Inspector Gadget: Reboot
by Knight Writer 95
Summary: A security guard is caught in an explosion and turned into a cyber police officer by a powerful corporation in a future crime riddled Detroit. Now he must put the clues together to find out about his past life and battle the menace of Dr. Claw. A revamped more action oriented version of the Disney movie. Volume 1 in the Reboot trilogy.
1. Crash and Burn

**_Inspector Gadget: Reboot _**

Ch. 1: Crash and Burn

Being part of the special security force at UniTech wasn't all bad. It had a decent wage, you got to drive the new Ford police interceptor, and you saw the occasional bit of action. Mind you, it wasn't that much because UniTech was one of the most secure factories in the whole United States of America. The corporation was less than ten years old but its innovative defense and robotic technology quickly shot it up in the ranks. UniTech was still expanding and was getting more and more defense contracts. I was grateful to be on the security force but what I really wanted was to be a cop. That was my main ambition. What I didn't know w as that my dream was about to be fulfilled, just not quite in the way I imagined.

My shift was winding down and I was eager for it to be over. I had a date that night with my girlfriend of five years, Shelby Lutton. A smile crept onto my face as I reached into my pocket and felt the small velvet box with a ring in it that I had purchased a week ago. I took it out and flipped it open to look at the ring for the umpteenth time that day. Just as I was putting the box back I heard a noise coming from the shadows of the staff parking lot.

"Who's there?" I said as my hand went for my flashlight and my other hand dropped for my gun. I shined the light around the dim parking lot until I found the source of the noise. "Doctor Ramirez, I'd have thought that you'd have gone home with the rest of the staff."

Taylor Ramirez and her brother, John, were two of the most prominent cyberneticists at UniTech. Now the two of them were working on the company's top priority secret project. The only thing anyone not directly related to the project knew was that it had something to do with brain waves.

"Officer Harder, I'm sorry. My brother and I were working late and we made the breakthrough we need to keep the project afloat. I've barely gotten any sleep this week so John told me to go home or he'd sedate me," she explained with a s mile that almost looked painful.

"I see, well congratulations on the breakthrough. Have a good evening and drive safely," I smiled back and turned to walk away.

* * *

"Doctor Taylor Ramirez, it has been a while hasn't it?"

The voice was smooth and almost melodic as it cut through the still air in the limo as the owner watched Dr. Ramirez walk towards her car on a TV screen. A sliver of moonlight was filtering into the backseat of the limo and was illuminating a metal hand.

"Her brother's still inside boss, should we wait until he leaves?"

"If I know her brother then he'll be in that lab until he falls asleep. He'll be collateral damage. Activate the drones Hammer."

"Yes boss."

A white nondescript van parked across the street from UniTech suddenly turned on and drove towards the back of the company. It crashed through the chain link fence and stopped just before the wall of the building. The rear door opened and the van discharged its cargo: several small tank like drones that moved around on treads. The robots plowed through the UniTech wall like it wasn't there and proceeded straight for the Ramirez's lab.

* * *

Dr. John Ramirez was the happiest he'd been in a long time. He and his sister had completed work on the most important part of their project. It would literally drive the invention that they hoped to create. He was putting a glowing blue disc back in its case when four drones broke through the wall of the lab. The first drone went right to the computer and used a built in computer interface jack to hook up and download files. Two other tank drones collected the proof of concept tech that was in the lab. John finally came out of his shock and tried to take action.

"That's secret information! You can't do that!" He exclaimed as he went for the security alert button.

The fourth drone, however, stopped right in his path and faced him with an energy cannon. John's eyes went wide as he realized what was about to happen. The drone fired and followed the other three out the hole they had made and back to the van.

* * *

Dr. Ramirez and I were still close enough to the van's point of entry to hear it break down the fence. I got there in time to see the van pulling away from the building. I pulled my gun and fired a tracker round which stuck to the exterior of the vehicle before going to see what had happened in the lab. When I got into the lab dust was settling an d Dr. Ramirez was cradling her dead brother's head in her arms and crying silently. I hated to see someone die at the hands of another human and the sight lit a fire in me and a glint of determination flared to life in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured as I kneeled down and looked Dr. Ramirez in the eyes. "I promise you I'll find whoever did this."

I got back up and ran for the lot where the interceptors were and got in one before radioing security.

"Security, this is Harder, we've had a break-in in the Ramirez's lab. Suspect is in an unlicensed white courier van, I am in pursuit and request backup," I requested as I activated the lights and siren.

"_Harder, this is security. We have dispatched several cruisers."_

I was a few yards behind the van when a limo pulled out in front and nearly caused me to swerve off the road.

"We're being followed boss," Hammer said .

"Don't worry, I have a surprise for our unwanted guest," he smiled and pressed a button on the console in front of him marked 'Oil Slick'.

Oil jets appeared in the rear of the limo and spewed the slippery substance onto the road. I hit it and immediately started skidding all over the place. I struggled to reassert control but it was hopeless. A window on the limo rolled down and a gun was pointed out. It fired a round that hit one of the tires which exploded and caused it to flip on its side. The interceptor continued to slide on the asphalt at a hair-raising speed until it hit a bill board.

"Stop the limo Hammer; I want to take care of business."

The sunroof of the limo opened as my vision cleared and a well groomed man appeared. He had a lean build, chiseled features, a square jaw, and brown hair. I grabbed the mike in the car and turned on the public address.

"This is security officer David Harder. Surrender or I will be forced to fire."

"Congratulations are in order officer," the man said. "No one has lasted that long before when I've used the oil slick. The accidents that follow are usually fatal. However, I have backup plans should the oil slick fail to dispose my pursuers. Care for a demonstration?" he asked as he brought out a small remote and used it.

The lights in my interceptor went out and the message 'Electronic Systems Failure' flashed on the computer monitor in the car.

"This is only step one, step two will prove to be the fatal step," the man in the limo smiled as he took an explosive o the limo and tossed it toward the interceptor. It stuck to the hood as I started the reboot of the electronic systems.

I looked up again and saw the man smile as he produced another remote and pressed the button.

"Feel free to stick around officer, although I'm sure it won't be for much longer. Meanwhile, I really must be going, " he stated and got back in the limo and drove off.

The electronic systems finally rebooted and I got out of the car as fast as I could. I had only run a few steps when the bomb exploded. I felt a searing burning pain run through my body followed by nothing.

* * *

_A/N: So how did I do? Is this alright? Should I continue this fanfic or change anything? One review= another chapter. No flames. I know that this chapter is basically the first few minutes of _Inspector Gadget _rewritten but I can guarantee it'll get better and veer off of the path of the movie. Just follow the story. It'll take on a life of it's own on chapter 3 and onward. So hit that review button._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inspector Gadget. If I did then both movies would have been a lot different. I do own the characters of Taylor and John Ramirez and David Harder. Now I'd better not find a bunch of Mickey Mouse ear wearing Disney lawyers on my front doorstep in the morning ._


	2. New Life

Ch.2: New Life

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

"This is security officer David Harder. Surrender or I will be forced to fire."

"Congratulations are in order officer," the man said. "No one has lasted that long before when I've used the oil slick. The accidents that follow are usually fatal. However, I have backup plans should the oil slick fail to dispose of my pursuers. Care for a demonstration?" he asked as he brought out a small remote and used it.

The lights in my interceptor went out and the message 'Electronic Systems Failure' flashed on the computer monitor in the car.

"This is only step one, step two will prove to be the fatal step," the man in the limo smiled as he took an explosive out of the limo and tossed it towards my interceptor. It stuck to the hood as I started the reboot of the electronic systems.

I looked up again and saw the man smile as he produced another remote and pressed the button.

"Feel free to stick around officer, although I'm sure it won't be for much longer. Meanwhile, I really must be going," he stated and got back in the limo which drove off.

The electronic systems finally rebooted and I got out of the car as fast as I could. I had only run a few steps when the bomb exploded. I felt a searing burning pain run through my body followed by nothing._  
_

Lloyd Xavier watched in the back of the departing limo as the bomb went off and engulfed me in flames. He smiled and flexed his mechanical hand.

"Success to the mission, and to the project. Let's get of here Hammer before the cops turn up. I've got a date with destiny."

* * *

Hours later I was in the ICU ward of a hospital and a doctor was talking to Taylor Ramirez about my condition as they watched me through the window.

"He's got thirty six fractures, major extensive tissue damage, and several concussions along with severe internal trauma. It's an absolute miracle he's even still alive but the chances of him lasting another day are practically nil."

"Isn't there anything else we can do for him?" Taylor inquired.

"As of right now we've done all we can for him. If he was a pet and I was a vet I'd advise putting him down."

"Well that's not an option!" she snapped. "This man put his life on the line to recover the data that was stolen. That research has been mine and my brother's main focus for the last six and a half years! There's still more we can do."

Taylor turned around and pulled her cell phone out of here purse and called a number. "Mr. King? It's Doctor Ramirez. We've got a candidate for the Cyber Cop Project. We can go to prototype within the next sixty days. Do I have the green light?"

* * *

At the time that Dr. Ramirez was making the call Shelby had reached the hospital and was frantically trying to find my room. She turned the corner to get to my room only to find the way blocked by technicians wearing lab coats with the UniTech logo on the sleeves. The head technician appeared to be a Hispanic woman with shoulder length light brown hair that had a few blonde streaks in it.

"We need to move him to UniTech now if we're going to save him," she said.

"He's flat lining!" a doctor yelled.

"We need a defibrillator in here now!

"Clear!"

"Still flat."

"Clear!"

"No change."

"One more time and then I'm calling it. Clear!"

"Nothing."

"All right, we've done what we can. What's the time?"

"9:17 pm."

"Do you still want the body Dr. Ramirez?"

"Yes, if what I have planned works he might still survive."

"Well he's legally dead now and he signed the waiver when he joined the security force, we could care less what you do with the body."

"Then we're taking him. He has an excellent psychological profile."

Shelby couldn't process this information. I was dead and UniTech wanted my body? What for? What were they going to do? And what was it for? She was about to confront Dr. Ramirez when she was stopped by guard.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I can't let you go back there right now."

"But that's my boyfriend they're taking!"

"I'm sorry but civilians aren't allowed past this point until further notice. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Shelby saw the technicians taking my body and renewed her struggle to get past the guard but failed. Seeing the technicians depart through the doors, she turned around and ran for her car. She managed to get her jeep around to the side of the hospital where they were loading my body into the back of a UniTech truck. She tailed the truck until it reached the UniTech building. She parked her car across the street and crept up to the chain link fence so she could hear what the technicians were saying.

"Dr. Ramirez! We have excellent news! Whoever took the proof of concept technology for the Cyber Cop Project didn't get the Neural Wave Amplifier!"

"Thank heavens! That's the heart of the entire project! The Cyber Cop Project has been given the green light by the CEO. As long as we hurry I think we might have enough time to save him. Get the equipment for the operation ready. We have to start immediately!"

Shelby heard all of this and it only piqued her curiosity further than it already had been. What the hell was going on? And what the heck was the Cyber Cop Project?

* * *

START UP

POWER ON

SYSTEM INITIALIZING

CONFIGURE SYSTEMS

COMMAND SYSTEMS

SET PARAMETERS

MEMORY SET

BIO SUSPENSION ONLINE

SYSTEM BUFFERS ONLINE

PERFORMING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC...

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: 100%

SYSTEM ACTIVATED

* * *

I felt as though I was in a rather heavy fog with a considerable headache. My eyes felt heavy and I struggled to open them. When I did I thought I was having a nightmare. I didn't have my normal vision. In its place I had what looked like a heads up display like you might see in a fancy helmet or for robot or cyborg POV shots in movies. I shot up straight in the bed I was in and looked at my hands. They appeared to be normal enough but I wasn't so sure. I flexed my right hand and it responded normally. After getting out of the bed I walked towards the mirror at the far end of the room but fell over after the first step. I was like a baby just learning to walk. I finally made it to the mirror and looked at my reflection. I still looked normal. I was wearing a pair of grey pants and a white shirt and my hair was untidy. Then I noticed a faint blue light in my chest. I unbuttoned my shirt and found a what looked like a futuristic type of computer circuit. It was shaped like a circle, had a fancy script '_G_' on the surface and was the source of the blue glow. Other than that I was fine. The Tony Stark like arc reactor in my chest did unnerve me a bit though. And I still had that HUD vision that was relaying information about my surroundings. I looked at the room I was in for the first time. It was colored with light grays and whites and smelled of disinfectant. Computer equipment lined the walls. I reached for the door handle only to have it crushed in my grip. I opted pushed on the door instead and it fell out into the hallway with a loud crash. I cringed slightly and peeked out the door. There was no one in sight. I walked out and turned a corner only to run into two security officers.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

I didn't stick around to give an answer.

"Come back here!"

Boy was that a stupid thing to say. The guy running away never listens. The guards gave chase and I put on an extra burst of speed. That 'extra' burst of speed was more than I had anticipated and it drove me right through a wall. The even odder thing was that I had felt nothing at all and I didn't have a scratch. I stumbled through and found myself in another lab. The doctors and technicians looked at me and then dove for cover while one of them tripped the alarm. I would have gone back out the way I had come but the two guards had cut me off so I went for the main doors instead. I burst out and made it to an elevator which took me to the ground floor. The doors slid open and I ran out straight into a trap. There were ten security officers waiting for me with raised guns.

"Uh… I surrender?" I managed to say.

"You're coming with us," the lieutenant said.

As he said it my vision became highlighted in red and the HUD prioritized the targets. Before I knew what was happening I had become a blur of motion. My hand lashed out and knocked the machine gun out of the lieutenant's hand and crushed the barrel like it was tin foil. I then slammed him in the chest with the palm of my hand. I kicked another guard in the gut as he attempted to rush me and then dodged out of the way as another guard opened fire on me. A slide of my legs in his direction landed him on his back and then I knocked him out with a roundhouse punch when he got back up. The rest of the guards were shocked by the ease and speed with which I had taken out their comrades and backed up a bit before priming their weapons. It's a bit hard to explain what happened next. All I know is that I managed to catapult myself over their heads just as they fired and then knocked them all out with one long punch to their jaws. Here's the thing though: my arm extended away at the wrist to punch the guards. I stood for a minute in a daze until Dr. Ramirez came in with a dozen more security officers who leveled their weapons at me.

"Dr. Ramirez, what's going on here? What's happened to me? The things I can do aren't human! My vision is like a heads up display, I can run like a cheetah, ram through walls without getting a scratch, I just knocked out ten guards and I don't remember a thing!"

"You may not remember much, you suffered several severe concussions in the explosion," she answered hesitantly.

"What?"

"Mr. Harder, will you come back with me to my office?"

"Well, alright. But could the guards put their guns down? I don't want what happened to those guards to happen to them."

A few minutes later we were in Taylor's office and I wanted some answers.

"I still have a lot of questions," I said as I paced. "What exactly happened to me?"

"You've just come out of a very long recovery."

"What did I have to recover from? And why do I have super human abilities all of a sudden?"

"You were caught in an explosion thirty two days ago. You suffered severe injuries but you were miraculously still alive. You flat lined in the hospital and we did the only thing we could to save you."

"And what exactly was that?"

"You were chosen as the candidate for the Cyber Cop Project. You are the world's first prototype cyber police officer designed for the Detroit police force. You'll be stationed at Metro South."

"I think I understand what you're saying but could you repeat that in English?"

"David, you're a cyborg."

* * *

_A/N: There you go, another chapter. How was this one? Sorry if you found it a bit boring. I promise that things will be more exciting in the next chapter. Gadget will finally be unleashed on the crime in Detroit. Ha ha ha. R&R. One review= another chapter._


	3. New Guy in Town

_Ch. 3: New Guy in Town_

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

"I still have a lot of questions," I said as I paced. "What exactly happened to me?"

"You've just come out of a very long recovery."

"What did I have to recover from? And why do I have super human abilities all of a sudden?"

"You were caught in an explosion thirty two days ago. You suffered severe injuries but you were miraculously still alive. You flat lined in the hospital and we did the only thing we could to save you."

"And what exactly was that?"

"You were chosen as the candidate for the Cyber Cop Project. You are the world's first prototype cyber police officer designed for the Detroit police force. You'll be stationed at Metro South."

"I think I understand what you're saying but could you repeat that in English?"

"David, you're a cyborg."

* * *

Cyborg. I heard the word but didn't quite believe it. What had I become? I wasn't exactly human anymore. Dr. Ramirez was giving me a basic run through of my systems but I was only half listening. Then she got to a part that grabbed my attention.

"This piece is of the utmost importance to your operation," she was saying as she pulled a diagram of what she was talking about up on her computer monitor. "This is the Neural Wave Amplifier. It's an advanced processor chip that augments the power of the human brainwave to the degree that it is able to run your systems. Without this processing chip it wouldn't be possible for your new body to function. Is there anything else that you wish to know at this time?"

"No, I can't think of anything else. It's just going to take me some time to assimilate and process all this information."

"Well that's fine. Before I forget here's your instruction manual," she smiled as she slid a tablet across the table to me.

I picked the tablet up and turned it on and took a quick look at the first two pages. I looked at the bottom and noticed that it said there were twenty-five thousand pages in the manual.

"Two more things," said Taylor as she walked over to a tall cabinet. "This is also important; it's your new uniform."

She opened the doors and I got my first look at my new outfit. It consisted of a tan trench coat, light brown fedora, boots, grey trousers, a blue button up shirt, maroon tie, and a black vest.

"This is the last thing you need for now," she continued as she took out a silver case. "This is your firearm. It's a CS 6-P machine pistol. It's capable of firing like a machine gun and uses armor piecing rounds. There are extra magazines in you left hip compartment and each clip holds forty five rounds."

"I guess I'm all set then," I smiled.

"That's all for now. The guard outside will take you to your quarters for the night and you'll be stationed at Metro South tomorrow."

* * *

While I was getting accustomed to my new body, things were rather busy at UniTech's chief rival, Ion Technologies.

"An android like this will catapult me back into my rightful place as one of the chief suppliers for the military instead of UniTech! This is sure to revolutionize the way war is waged across the globe. An army of metal soldiers all under the control of one man controlling them with his mind," Lloyd Xavier, aka, Dr. Claw, gloated as he observed the prototype battle android. "Are you sure it will function as promised Dr. Kenneth?"

Gary Kenneth was a thin and somewhat mousey man but was not to be underestimated because he had a brilliant mind that had yet to fail Xavier even once.

"The droid has past all its tests on the computer simulation and I have no reason to believe that it will not put you back on top. Since it's based off of UniTech designs you might even be able to put them out of business."

"That's exactly what I want. Hook me up."

Lloyd sat down in a chair that was connected to a helmet that featured several wires and cables trailing out of the back. It lowered onto his head and he concentrated hard.

"Is the drone moving yet?"

"Not yet Dr. Xavier."

Xavier concentrated harder but it didn't do any good. The battle android remained immobile. He became infuriated and tore the helmet off, almost throwing it across the room.

"Something must have gotten left behind," mused Xavier as he paced furiously. "Kenneth! I want to see all the information we have on the Cyber Cop Project! We must find out what they have that we do not."

* * *

UniTech vans pulled up outside the Metro South Precinct. Technicians got out and poured into the building.

"Bring him in through the side door," Ramirez said as the station chief walked up to her.

"What's going on here Dr. Ramirez?"

"It's official UniTech business Chief Steele. We have the backup that we promised your station."

"Well I don't see any special S.W.A.T. team suddenly swarming the place," Steele said sarcastically. "UniTech promised to give us a backup. That's something we sorely need because as you know, this is the most violent sector in Detroit. We're getting creamed out there and there aren't enough of us to respond to every corner drug store getting robbed!"

"We said we'd give you the equivalent of ten of the best S.W.A.T. teams. And trust me, your reinforcement will ensure that you'll never be out manned again as he's a whole police force by himself," Dr. Ramirez said coolly.

"I'd like to meet the man that can do all that if what you're saying isn't all hot air. Where is this wonder cop?"

"He's coming in right now."

There was a wall with frosted glass and a doorway in on the left side of the precinct. Movement behind it caught Chief Steele's attention. I came out through the doorway a second later and extended a hand to the chief.

"I understand that you're gonna be my new boss," I said as we shook hands.

"Are you pulling my leg Ramirez? He's our reinforcement? I'm sorry, but I doubt this one man is going to make that much of a difference."

"He's not just any ordinary man. He has special equipment to help him battle the particularly difficult to handle offenders in this area that you are unable to apprehend."

"I'm sure that I'll prove my usefulness to you in the days to come, if not by the end of the day," I grinned and turned to follow Dr. Ramirez to where my station was being set up.

"She's off her rocker," the chief muttered before returning to his duties.

* * *

"Right then, we're just going to run a few preliminary tests to make sure your systems are functioning properly before you go out to fight the crime in this sector," explained Taylor as I sat down in the chair the technicians had brought for me. "Your functions can be activated by your mind. All you have to do is think it and it'll happen. Just let us know if something is or isn't working. Now give us a targeting grid."

I thought about it and a targeting cross appeared in my vision.

"Check," I said to confirm that the targeting cross was in my vision.

"Target the quarter."

The words 'Acquiring Target' followed by 'Target Locked' flashed in the lower center of my vision briefly.

"Check."

The technician holding the coin moved it around and my targeting system followed it.

"Is the target lock following it?"

"Yes."

"Acquire second target," Ramirez said and held up an automatic screwdriver.

The targeting system left a targeting cross on the quarter and locked on to the screwdriver.

"Check."

"Alright, bring up the vocal stress test," ordered Taylor.

A bar appeared in the lower left of my vision with the words 'Vocal Stress Analyzer' underneath.

"Ask me a question."

"What's your name?"

"Taylor Ramirez."

The bar showed the fluctuations in her voice as she answered and showed a truth percentage of 100%.

"Check."

"Try the audio enhancer."

The same bar remained in the lower left corner of my vision but the text was replaced by Audio Enhance.

"Try to detect the ticking of this pocket watch."

I concentrated and picked up the noise.

"Check."

"Flip through your different vision modes, x-ray, thermal, infra-red, ultraviolet, and night vision."

"Check."

"OK, record for five seconds and then play back."

Text reading 'Recording' appeared in the upper left corner. I then replayed the footage in a small screen in the same corner.

"Check."

"That takes care of everything," Taylor smiled. "You're officially ready for duty, Inspector Gadget. All you need is your car. Just follow me and you'll get to see it."

I walked with Dr. Ramirez to a garage in the back of the precinct.

"Here it is," she said as she flipped on the lights with a wide grin, "the Gadgetmobile. I made it with John."

Taylor got a little teary-eyed at the mention of her dead brother.

"Are you gonna be alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just still hurts."

I felt compelled to give her a comforting hug and when I wrapped my arms around her she responded the same way and cried into my shoulder for a minute before letting up.

"You alright now?"

"Yes, thank you. I needed to let that out."

"Did you already have the funeral?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. But remember this," I said as I tapped the section of my chest where the Neural Wave Amplifier was, "as long as I'm around a bit of your brother is too."

She smiled and wiped the tears away. "Thanks. What do you think of your car?"

"Looks like a 2012 Ford Mustang GT modified to have four doors," I answered.

"On the outside it does," agreed Taylor. "But my brother and I tricked this car out to the max. It was the second most expensive undertaking for the Cyber Cop Program after you. Here are the keys."

I caught the keys she tossed to me and we got inside.

"Wow, this car is certainly impressive," I whistled.

The inside was very futuristic with touch screens and buttons lining the dash. The interior was also had a wood finish and tinted windows.

"The shell is a new alloy that is thin and lightweight but extremely robust. This car can take a tank shell at forty yards and only get a minor dent. We equipped him with a modified twin turbo charged V-12 engine that delivers over twelve hundred horsepower and he'll do knot to sixty in two point four seconds with a top speed of two hundred and forty-five miles per hour. The stopping distance is four yards from two hundred. The fuel used is a high octane bio-gas which produces zero emissions and will allow a top speed of three hundred and fifteen in pursuit mode. He also has a camouflage system, satellite tracking, wireless access to the police database, a Sat-Net up link, and voice control. The full instruction manual is in the glove box."

"This car sounds as impressive as I am. And if I recall correctly, you referred to this car as a 'he', right?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, sorry. I equipped this vehicle with an artificial intelligence matrix. When he's activated he'll be able to talk to you. He'll even be able to drive himself."

"Absolutely incredible," I muttered.

"Well, I won't keep you from your duties any longer inspector," grinned Taylor as she got out of the car. "Now you go out there and show all the criminals in Detroit that justice just got an upgrade."

"I'll make it painstakingly obvious," I promised as I started the engine and hit the gas pedal.

The Gadgetmobile launched forward and I was out on a quest to clean up the streets of Detroit.

"Alright Gadgetmobile," I said after we had gotten underway. "Let's see what you can do. Activate artificial intelligence."

"Greetings inspector, I am Gadgetmobile. May I inquire as to what we are looking for?"

"Crime, what else Gadgetmobile? I've gotta prove my usefulness to Chief Steele somehow and I figure that nipping some major crime in the butt will do the trick."

"Then you'll be pleased to hear that there is a hostage situation at the commerce building. They are asking for all available units to respond."

"Pedal to the metal Gadgetmobile, we've got us a crime to stop!"

I pushed a button on the dash and lights appeared on the roof of the Gadgetmobile and the siren wailed as we tore down the streets to the commerce building.

* * *

Police cruisers and news vans flooded the street where the commerce building was and reporters were crowding around Chief Steele pestering him with questions. Inside the commerce building the group of robbers was holding a group of college students' prisoner with the leader issuing demands through a megaphone.

"Listen up coppers! Don't jerk us around! You don't want to do that because we're a really nasty bunch! If you try anything or don't meet our demands these people will be getting wings and a harp!"

"Well you can give your damn demands for all I care but it won't do you any good 'cause we don't negotiate with terrorists!" Chief Steele shot back.

"Well that's too bad chief! If our demands aren't met within ten minutes then these people start seeing Saint Peter one by one starting with this girl!"

He pushed one of the hostages up to the window he was speaking through. It was Shelby.

After the criminal had given his warning to the police another police car's sirens could be heard in the distance. It got closer and closer until the Gadgetmobile spun around a corner and came to a shuddering halt in front of the building. I got out and the news reporters started swarming around me pushing cameras and microphones up to my face and bombarding me with questions. I ignored them and looked at the commerce building giving it a quick scan with my x-ray vision before walking over to the chief.

"Well if it isn't wonder cop."

"Hi to you to chief. What's the situation?"

"Terrible, they've barricaded themselves inside and they have machine guns which were reported stolen from Metro East two days ago."

"I have an idea. Keep them talking and leave the rest to me."

* * *

Shelby was terrified. She had stopped by the commerce building bank to withdraw some money when three thugs carrying machine guns and wearing ski masks barged in and demanded all the money in the bank. A teller had tripped the silent alarm and when the first police arrived on the scene Shelby and everyone else in the bank suddenly found themselves in a hostage situation. The leader of the gang had grabbed Shelby and dragged her to the window where he was making his demands and was threatening to kill her if the demands weren't met. Now Shelby thought that she was going crazy. She could have sworn she saw me get out of a Mustang GT that had pulled up outside the building. But it couldn't have been me.

_'I must be losing it,'_ she thought as she lowered her head and shed a tear. _'He's dead.'_

* * *

"What's your idea inspector? Inspector! Answer me!" yelled Chief Steele.

"Just keep the robbers occupied chief and I can take care of the rest," I offered for an explanation. Steele just stared at me as I entered the commerce building and then got back on his megaphone.

"Alright, don't hurt the girl; we'll give you whatever you want."

"That's more like it! First off, we want to leave here with the money. Second, we don't want to be followed. Third, we want you to drop your guns. Fourth, we want a new car! And for insurance we're taking the girl with us! You got that flatfoot?"

"Yeah, we got it. What kind of car do you want?"

"We want something that goes really fast, like that Mustang down there. In fact, we might just take it!"

"I suppose you also want to take all the toasters that the bank is handing out for each new account opened."

"Are you trying to jerk us around? I told you not to do that! And just to show you that we mean business, I'm gonna kill the girl now!"

* * *

While the chief was keeping the thieves busy I had wasted no time in getting to the second floor where they had barricaded themselves in. Using my x-ray vision and audio enhancer I was able to hear and see the leader make the gang's demands. I was about to confront them when I heard the scuffing of a boot on the carpet behind me. I whirled around and saw one of the gang behind me with a machine gun pointed at me. He fired before I could draw my CS 6 from its holster. The bullets fired form the gun merely bounced of my metal endoskeleton. My attacker stopped firing and stared stupidly at me. I smirked and got a target lock.

"My turn," I said as I drew and shot the gun out of his hands. "Your move."

He turned tail and ran down the hall towards the elevator. I extended one of my arms after him and dragged him back by the collar of his shirt. I turned him so his back was facing the door to the room where the hostages were and dealt a punch that sent him right through it.

* * *

"Alright missy, make peace with whatever gods you believe in because you're about to meet them."

The gang leader pushed Shelby down on her knees and pointed the gun at her head. But before he pulled the trigger the door burst inward and the thug from outside flew through the room, hit the second gang member, hit the wall, and fell into a heap.

"Release the girl, you are under arrest," I ordered with my gun raised, my face in the shadows of the dimly lit room.

"You'd better back off copper, or the next bullet's going right through her pretty little head," the man growled.

I almost laughed. The gang leader's position, to the right of the girl, was a much easier position in which to disarm him. If he had been holding his hostage in front of him with the barrel pushed against her head from behind, it would have complicated my job.

"You know you're not really in a position to be making the demands here. I mean that figuratively and literally."

"Hey, I've got the girl so you'd better just put that gun down and get over there with the others."

"I'll admit that you do have a good hand but I have an ace up my sleeve."

"I'm getting tired of this! Shut up and drop the gun!"

"I told you you're not in a position…"

He cracked and opened fire on me. "I said SHUT UP!" He grinned as the smoke cleared but it disappeared as he saw I was still standing.

I looked at the holes in my vest and sighed. "And these are new clothes. Oh well," I said and fired. The gun flew out of his hands.

I advanced and picked him up by the lapels of his coat and threw him against the wall on the far side of the room. He didn't move. I turned my attention to the hostages.

"Thank you for your cooperation. There are medical units standing by outside to treat you and take you to a crisis center if you have suffered from emotional shock." I then turned my attention to the girl who was still huddling on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I-I think so," she answered as she took the hand I offered to help her up. As I did this my face came into the light and she saw. "David, is it you?"

She fainted and I caught her. Her face fell into the light as well and I got a good look. She had a slightly oval shaped face, red hair, and brown eyes that were nearly as dark as my own. She seemed familiar but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her before. Damn memory loss. The doctor's had said that my memories would return on their own and that I shouldn't force them. I took a quick video recording of her for later analysis, picked her up bridal style, and carried her out of the building. When I appeared outside the commerce building the press immediately swarmed around me and asked a flurry of questions. I ignored them and made my way to the chief.

"The thugs are inside taking a nap with hand cuffs on, Metro East has its guns back, the hostages are being treated, and this woman is in need of a hospital."

"I've got to hand it to you, you certainly took care of that gang. They've been given us a run around for months now. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong, good work."

"Thanks chief," I said as paramedics took the woman from me. I gave a quick address to the media and then departed.

"I assume that we're going to find more crime?" asked Gadgetmobile.

"You'd be correct, there's a crime happening somewhere and it waits for no one."

* * *

Shelby sat up so quickly that she startled the paramedics that were examining her.

"David?"

She looked around but all she saw was police, media types, and some civilians running around. Shelby was about to get up when a paramedic stopped her.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to lie back down."

Shelby struggled but the other paramedic slid a mask over her face.

"N-No," she struggled weakly as the gas began to take effect. Her last view was one of me getting into Gadgetmobile and then everything went dark.

* * *

_A/N: I know that I said I'd post this chapter when I got another review but I couldn't keep you in suspense. I had to release another chapter. This was also supposed to be a two part chapter with the robbers getting busted in the next one. I decided last minute to include that in this chapter as well. How was this one? Will the inspector remember Shelby? And what's Claw's game? Find out in the next exciting installment of _Inspector Gadget: Reboot. _R&R for next chapter._


	4. Remembering

Ch. 4: Remembering

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

Shelby sat up so quickly that she startled the paramedics that were examining her.

"David?"

She looked around but all she saw was police, media types, and some civilians running around. Shelby was about to get up when a paramedic stopped her.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to lie back down."

Shelby struggled but the other paramedic slid a mask over her face.

"N-No," she struggled weakly as the gas began to take effect. Her last view was one of me getting into Gadgetmobile and then everything went dark.

* * *

My first night on the job had paid off. In addition to the attempted robbery of the commerce building, I had stopped a mugging, a drug store robbery, a car theft, a break-in, and a murder. Not bad at all. I was back at Metro South sitting in my chair watching the morning news with cables hooked up to me performing diagnostics.

_"In local news Detroit's first cyber police officer stopped an attempted robbery of the commerce building last night and saved the life of a local woman. The cybernetic super cop would barely slow down to talk to the cameras but he did have this to say before departing."_

_"I was designed by UniTech for a specific purpose: to wipe out the crime that plagues Detroit. The citizens of this city can sleep safe and sound knowing that there's a new guy in town to lay down the law."_

"How are you feeling this morning?" asked Dr. Ramirez as she walked in.

"All systems are functioning at maximum efficiency," I answered.

"That's good. By the way, you also made the front page of every newspaper in town and part of the state," she smiled as she handed me a paper.

**_Inspector Gadget Busts Gang in Commerce Building Robbery_**

"I take this means that I'm going to be the center of attention around here for the foreseeable future," I commented.

"You can bet your Neural Wave Amplifier on that," Taylor laughed. "By the way, you're going to be officially inducted into the police force at a gala tomorrow night."

"Gadget," Chief Steele said as he walked in. "Great job taking care of those disturbances last night. Thanks to you we were able to increase manpower in areas where it was needed. We really can use someone like you on the force."

"Thanks chief," I grinned and got up to do my rounds.

* * *

Back at Ion Technologies Lloyd Xavier, aka, Dr. Claw, was furious. He'd just spent the past two hours going through the data stolen from UniTech for the twenty-third time and came up empty-handed. He was pacing around his office when a newscast on the TV caught his attention.

_"In local news Detroit's first cyber police officer stopped an attempted robbery of the commerce building last night and saved the life of a local woman. The cybernetic super cop would barely slow down to talk to the cameras but he did have this to say before departing._

_"I was designed by UniTech for a specific purpose: to wipe out the crime that plagues Detroit. The citizens of this city can sleep safe and sound knowing that there's a new guy in town to lay down the law.""_

"It's that security guard who followed us. So he's the one they chose to experiment on for the Cyber Cop Project. And he works, which is good news for me and my plans. My clients are growing impatient. I'll have to step up my game," he mused as he approached his desk intercom. "There's bound to be an induction ceremony soon for him. I'm sure that it'll prove to be most interesting."

* * *

Shelby had been released from the hospital earlier that morning and was at home trying to rationalize what she had seen last night. She knew that I had flat lined at the hospital, so that meant I was dead. But UniTech had taken my body and eight weeks later she could have sworn that I had been the one to get her and the others out of that hostage situation. What had UniTech wanted with my body? She glanced at her TV in time to catch part of the newscast that Xavier and I had seen. She quickly turned up the volume.

_"…The citizens of this city can sleep safe and sound knowing that there's a new guy in town to lay down the law."_

_"That was all our new hero had to say before he departed the scene. The galvanized crime fighter will be inducted into the police force at a special gala to be held tomorrow at the Crown Plaza Hotel."_

Shelby darted to where her morning newspaper was and looked at the front page.

**_Inspector Gadget Busts Gang in Commerce Building Robbery_**

There was a picture of me carrying her out of the building underneath the headline. Now Shelby was absolutely certain that she wasn't seeing things. She wanted some answers and she knew where and how she was going to get them. She walked to her closet and got out a sparkling sky blue dress.

* * *

The gala started at six and was in full swing by six-thirty. I was milling around talking with the guests. The people who were in the hostage situation and were not still in the hospital were there and they gave their thanks.

"Excuse me inspector," came a voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw Dr. Ramirez smiling at me. She looked beautiful in a lovely, flattering purple dress the hugged her figure and went down to just below her knees.

"May I have this dance?"

"Certainly," I answered as I offered my hand.

It had been awhile since the last time I had danced and I was grateful that I didn't step on her toes. We danced for a while and made small talk until we were interrupted.

"Mind if I cut in?" came a smooth voice.

The owner of the voice was a tall man with swept back hair and chiseled features. His voice put me on edge for some reason.

"Dr. Ramirez," he continued, "it has been a while hasn't it?"

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"Lloyd Xavier, we went to Harvard together."

"Ah, now I remember! You're the CEO of Ion Technologies now aren't you?"

"Yes I am. We're doing very well despite of the loss of contracts to UniTech. But there's nothing like some competition once in awhile is there?"

"Good competition is healthy," Dr. Ramirez agreed with a smile. "I believe this calls for some champagne. Would you mind getting some inspector?"

"Not at all. I'll be back shortly."

I left the two and headed over to the refreshment table. Something about Xavier made my servos twitch however and I turned on my audio enhancer to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Dr. Xavier, you've changed since our days at Harvard."

"You haven't. You're still as beautiful as ever. I like to keep an eye on competition occasionally. You and your brother were the top scientists assigned to something called the Cyber Cop Project right?"

"You're certainly well informed."

"The fact that it was one of UniTech's top secret projects wasn't exactly a secret. What the research pertained too was. I can only deduce that the inspector is the end result. If his first night on the job is a reliable yard stick then he's a stupendous success. You're done with the Cyber Cop Project."

"He works better than my brother and I hoped for. But he's only the prototype."

"But he's a success. So the project is complete."

"I guess."

"Since you're done with the Cyber Cop Project why not come and work for me at Ion Technologies?"

I had heard enough. I finished pouring the champagne and made my way back to them.

"Your champagne," I said crisply as I handed the glasses to them.

"Thank you inspector," Xavier replied and downed his champagne in one gulp. "Now if you don't mind, I must take my leave."

"Dr. Ramirez turned to me with a smile on her face after Xavier had left.

"David, he just gave me a job offer. I'd have unlimited funding, my own office and lab, complete control of all my research and projects, it's a dream come true!"

"But what about the Cyber Cop Project? Are you sure you've worked all the glitches out? You said yourself that I'm only the prototype and prototypes can have malfunctions."

"All I can say is if I do leave the company then the project will be in very capable hands. Dr. Jay Powell is to be my successor. He has a lot of potential and was a great asset in getting around some of the road blocks we encountered."

"Still, you're the chief scientist on the project and I think that…"

"Inspector Gadget!" boomed a voice.

I turned and say a portly man in a thousand dollar suit walking towards me.

"Mayor Harold Hammersmith," he grinned as he extended his hand. "I must say that I think that you're the best thing to happen to this city in a long time. The Cyber Cop Project was worth every penny the city invested in it judging from your first night's performance. Now If you don't mind, we need you for some pictures with your fellow boys in blue!"

I was dragged over to where the whole of Metro South was lined up for photo shoots. I was stationed next to Chief Steele.

"Hey chief?" I asked quietly. "When can I get started on my first case?"

"Soon enough inspector. But there are some things we'd like you to take care of first."

Soon after the shoot was over there was a sudden commotion at the front of the ball room. People started staring and a few guards rushed over to help take care of the situation. I walked in the direction of the disturbance and cleared the guests in time to see a flash of red hair as the person responsible was finally dragged out.

"What happened?" I asked a guard.

"Someone tried to crash the party. She said she was one of the people you saved at the Commerce Building robbery but she didn't have an invite with her and her name wasn't on the guest list. We turned her away and caught her trying to sneak back in."

"What was her name?"

"She said it was Shelby Lutton.

* * *

Shelby was in a terrible mood. How could she have forgotten the invitation? Now she couldn't get in. She was so mad that she kicked a nearby car.

"You really need to work on your anger management," came a voice. "Either that or find a better way of venting your anger than putting dents in people's cars. Have you considered meditation? Or perhaps kick-boxing would be more to your liking."

"W-who said that?" stammered Shelby as she looked around the parking lot. There was no one in sight.

"You just kicked me."

"You're in the car?"

"No, I am the car."

"That doesn't make any sense.

"Of course it does. I'm the voice of the UniTech Armored Automated Pursuit Vehicle. You may call me Gadgetmobile."

"Gadgetmobile? You're the inspector's car!"

"Indeed I am. Now why are you in such a heated mood?"

"This is crazy. I'm talking to a car," Shelby muttered.

"Yes, a car that talks back."

Shelby took a breath of air before continuing. "Inspector Gadget is my boyfriend, David Harder. He was caught in an explosion a little over two months ago. UniTech took his body and turned him into the cyborg that is now Inspector Gadget."

"UniTech did that?"

"Yes. But now he doesn't seem to remember me. He rescued me at the Commerce Building robbery and gave no indication of recognition."

"According to my data banks David Harder is officially dead. He died at the Detroit Mediplex, July seventeenth at 9:17 pm."

"I know," Shelby almost whispered. "I was there when he flat lined."

"The explosion he was in was massive. It's a very good bet that he's lost most of his memory"

"I was afraid it was because UniTech had programmed the memories out."

"According to the specs I have his brain is used to run the autonomics system and as a logic and reasoning center.

"Do you know anything about the Neural Wave Amplifier?"

"Yes, but it's against my programming to reveal that information to anyone without the proper authorization code."

"But I'm his girlfriend!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't violate my programming. However, if you wish to wait for the inspector feel free to get in," Gadgetmobile said as he opened the passenger door.

"Thanks," Shelby smiled gratefully as she got in. "It's a bit chilly out here."

"Not a problem Ms. Lutton."

* * *

Back at the party the mention of Shelby's name had jogged a few circuits. Now I had a headache.

Taylor walked up to me and asked "Are you alright?"

"I think so, I just have a headache."

"What happened?"

"One of the guards said a name that sounds familiar to me. But I can't remember where I've heard that name before for the life of me."

"The headache is probably because some of your memories are trying to resurface."

"Well I wish that they'd hurry up. I think it's getting worse. I might have to leave."

"Are your systems compromised?"

"No, all systems are still functioning normally. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

* * *

I walked back to Gadgetmobile rubbing my temples, trying to soothe my headache.

"Inspector, you have a visitor," Gadgetmobile informed me as I approached.

"A visitor?"

"Yes, she may be able to help you recover your memories."

That piqued my curiosity. I got in and Gadgetmobile turned on the interior lights. There in the passenger seat was the same woman I had saved in the commerce building robbery.

"David? It really is you isn't it?"

"Do I know you?"

"Don't you remember? It's me, Shelby!"

"The name seems familiar to me, as do you, but I can't recall any of my memories past three days ago. I'm sorry."

"What do you remember?"

"I… remember an extreme burning pain and then waking up at UniTech as a cyborg. Anything else before refuses to come back. The rest of my past is swathed in darkness."

"Well maybe this will jog a few circuits," Shelby said, sounding hopeful. "You were a security guard at UniTech before the explosion. There was a robbery there and you gave chase only to get caught in an explosion. You were taking to the Detroit Mediplex where you flat lined. UniTech took your body and made you into Inspector Gadget. Did that do anything to jumpstart your memories?"

"It certainly had. All of a sudden images were flashing in front of my eyes. I remembered the break in at UniTech, getting in my interceptor and pursuing the retreating van only to end up on the receiving end of an oil slick when a limo pulled out in front of me. I had crashed and someone came out through the sun roof of the limo. The face was the only thing that was still blurred. He had disabled the electronic systems and attached a bomb to the interceptor. I hadn't gotten away in time. I came back to reality after the flashback ended with a gasp. I was covered in cold sweat and it took a few deep breathes to calm my racing heart.

"Are you alright?" asked Shelby.

I looked at her and saw the concern in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm… fine. What you told me… caused a flashback. It wasn't exactly… pleasant."

We could have continued our discussion but dispatch chose that particular moment to interrupt us.

_"Available units please respond. Warehouse robbery in progress at DeLorean Avenue."_

"I'm sorry," I said as I looked at Shelby sheepishly. "I have to go. You can drop by Metro South or my house if you want to continue this conversation."

Shelby smiled understandingly, got a pen and paper out of her purse and hurriedly scribbled something down on it.

"Here's my number, call me," she said before getting out.

"I will," I assured as I glanced at the number and put it in my breast pocket. "Dispatch, this is Gamma One, am en route to warehouse. ETA: four minutes."

* * *

_A/N: There you go, another chapter. How was it? The inspector has started to remember but will he be able to remember Shelby? And why does Xavier _really_ want Dr. Ramirez to work at Ion Technologies? R&R to find out._


	5. Getting the Case

Ch. 5: Getting the Case

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

"Well maybe this will jog a few circuits," Shelby said, sounding hopeful. "You were a security guard at UniTech before the explosion. There was a robbery there and you gave chase only to get caught in an explosion. You were taking to the Detroit Mediplex where you flat lined. UniTech took your body and made you into Inspector Gadget. Did that do anything to jumpstart your memories?"

"It certainly had. All of a sudden images were flashing in front of my eyes. I remembered the break in at UniTech, getting in my interceptor and pursuing the retreating van only to end up on the receiving end of an oil slick when a limo pulled out in front of me. I had crashed and someone came out through the sun roof of the limo. The face was the only thing that was still blurred. He had disabled the electronic systems and attached a bomb to the interceptor. I hadn't gotten away in time. I came back to reality after the flashback ended with a gasp. I was covered in cold sweat and it took a few deep breathes to calm my racing heart.

"Are you alright?" asked Shelby.

I looked at her and saw the concern in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm… fine. What you told me… caused a flashback. It wasn't exactly… pleasant."

We could've continued our discussion but dispatch chose that particular moment to interrupt us.

_"Available units please respond. Warehouse robbery in progress at DeLorean Avenue."_

"I'm sorry," I said as I looked at Shelby sheepishly. "I have to go. You can drop by Metro South or my house if you want to continue this conversation."

Shelby smiled understandingly, got a pen and paper out of her purse and hurriedly scribbled something down on it.

"Here's my number, call me," she said before getting out.

"I will," I assured as I glanced at the number and put it in my breast pocket. "Dispatch, this is Gamma One, am en route to warehouse. ETA: four minutes."

* * *

The warehouse robbery was taken care of quickly. It was several days later and I had yet to call Shelby due to my overly busy schedule. Crime in Detroit was on the drop but even I couldn't be everywhere at once. I was driving around aimlessly and thinking about the conversation I had had with Shelby. It had taken all of my strength to keep from stuttering or showing how nervous I was in her presence. Me, a super cyborg cop, nervous in the presence of a woman. It certainly didn't help that she was extremely pretty. I was driving in the general direction of UniTech when I turned onto a street that caused me to have another flashback.

I hit the brakes and rode the flashback out. In my mind's eye I could see myself in the interceptor as I hit the oil slick left by the limo. The interceptor flipped over and ran hood first into a bill board poll. The owner of the limo stood up through the sunroof and tossed a magnetic explosive at the interceptor before activating the charge and departing. I got out but hadn't run far enough when the bomb detonated.

I was brought back to reality by Gadgetmobile.

"Inspector? Inspector, are you alright? Inspector?"

"I'm fine Gadgetmobile. I just… had a flashback. I'm gonna get out for a minute."

I stepped out and looked at the street. The forensics team had been through months ago and cataloged everything. Now you'd never know that an explosion had taken place there apart from the blackened area on the asphalt and poll. I walked towards the poll and still saw my interceptor wrecked against it. The light of a nearby lamppost was being reflected off of something and caught my attention. It was partially buried in the dirt surrounding the base of the poll. I dug it out and dusted it off. It was a small velvet box that had come open revealing the diamond ring that it held. The sight of this ring was enough to jumpstart my memories. The dam that was blocking them broke and I was overtaken by the flood. I dropped to my knees clutched my head.

I remembered buying the ring at an expensive jeweler's a week before the explosion. Shelby and I had a date planned for that night. I was going to propose but never got the chance. The rest of my memories followed that, starting with my childhood and moving forward. I remembered meeting my friends and eventually Shelby in middle school; my high school years followed as did my memory of getting my driver's license; college flashed by next and finally getting into a serious relationship with Shelby after years of harboring a crush on her. It all flashed in front of me in the space of a few seconds. It was almost like an out of body experience. When it was all over I had a multitude of conflicting emotions. But the dominant one was anger. Anger at the one who tried to take my life and in a way succeeded. He took away my human life, a life I could not return to. I looked up at the stars and let out a yell of pure rage. The man hunt had begun.

* * *

While I was starting on a crusade for vengeance, Dr. Xavier was busy in his private lab. Dr. Kenneth walked in pulling the prototype android which had had some alterations made to the face.

"I've finished the alterations you've requested, doctor. I have to say that the resemblance is uncanny. No one will be able to tell them apart. But I still don't know how you plan to make this work without the processor."

"You needn't worry about it Kenneth. It's well in hand."

Dr. Kenneth looked at the computer monitor on the work desk and saw the specs displayed.

"Is that Dr. Ramirez's private research?"

"Yes, it is. I hacked her files and stole the data."

"Does this mean that you've made the chip?"

"I've just finished it," Xavier grinned evilly as he held up a glowing quarter inch thick blue disc. "The blueprints have been fed into the assembly machines and the orders can be met on schedule."

"And the prototype is ready as promised as well," Kenneth added.

"Excellent, it's time for a test run."

Kenneth turned the modified android around to face them. It's face had been altered to resemble my own. Xavier inserted the Neural Wave Amplifier into the chest cavity and rotated clockwise until it clicked into place. The effect was immediate. Indicator lights winked on, a whine could be heard as the systems powered on, the built in weapons primed themselves and the eyes lit up with a red glow.

"Robo-Gadget," Xavier said, "you have just been activated by the most advanced computer technology in existence. Do you know what your function is?"

"Affirmative," the drone answered in a voice that mirrored my own. "I am an Ion Technologies Series 100 Model 1-A Battle Android. I am programmed for combat and destruction and accept any and all instruction with no questioning."

Xavier let out a long maniacal laugh. "Ha-ha-ha-haaa! Success! No one can stop us now! Not even Inspector Gadget!"

* * *

I walked into the precinct and headed to Chief Steele's office. I was going to get the Ramirez murder case!

"Got a minute chief?" I asked as I stuck my head through the doorway.

"Sure, what can I do for you Gadget?"

"I want to be assigned to the murder of John Ramirez."

"I'm afraid that's a no can do."

"Why?"

"The case was closed shortly before you cam online. There wasn't enough evidence to convict someone, let alone find a perpetrator."

"Can't you reopen the case? I'm sure I can find something that'll give us a suspect."

"There's not enough evidence!"

"But chief…"

"But nothing Gadget! Why do you want this case so much?"

"Before I was caught in the explosion I promised Taylor I'd find the ones responsible for her brother's murder. I have every intention of keeping that promise."

"While I respect and admire your loyalty, I still can't help you. Our best detectives couldn't find anything and they've been on the force for years. Before you became Inspector Gadget you weren't even a real cop! You were a security guard. Even now you lack the necessary training to be a real detective. You're a fine cop, but not a detective. And because you have no real training as a detective, you will leave this case to _real_ detectives!"

"Sir—"

"NO GADGET! I'm not reopening the case and that's final! Now get out of my office!"

* * *

I stormed into my maintenance lab in the precinct with anger literally radiating off of me in near palpable waves.

"What happened to get you all riled up like this?" asked Jay.

Dr. Jay Powell was a rather eccentric individual. He was as tall as I was and had a wild mane of brown hair that perpetually managed to look like he had just rolled out of bed and combed at the same time. The only words to describe his near indescribable hair were organized chaos. He truly did have a brilliant mind but his behavior was rather erratic and he had a tendency to spout random words on his off time. You could be in the same room as him and he would not move for some time. Then you'd start to see if he was alright and he'd suddenly throw up his hands and say something completely random like 'spaghetti!' Needless to say his behavior on his off time got on a few people's nerves. I managed to get on his nerves on his first day at the precinct by mentioning _Star Trek. _Turns out he was a diehard _Star Wars _fan. We got into a heated debate (the only subject that came up that I conceded on was that the hyper drive was far superior to the warp drive (trekkies, don't hate, it's true. The hyper drive can take you from one side of the galaxy to the other in a matter of weeks while it was going to take _Voyager _a predicted seventy-five years to get from the Delta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant at maximum warp.).) that only ended when I was pulled out on duty. Despite the difference in sci-fi preferences the two of us became fast friends.

"I asked the chief to reopen the Ramirez case and he refused, saying that there wasn't enough evidence to even find a suspect."

"That sucks, but why do you want the case?"

"I got my memories back last night and I remembered that I'd promised Taylor I'd find the ones responsible for her brother's murder."

"Well there's not much I can do to help you there but I do have a new gadget for you," Jay said as he grabbed my flat brimmed fedora off my head and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I like that hat."

"Well you don't need it anymore, it's obsolete."

"What do you mean it's obsolete? Hats don't become obsolete!"

"They do now," answered Jay as he pulled an identical flat brimmed fedora out. "This is your new hat. I got the idea for its capabilities while watching _Goldfinger_. Take it to the shooting gallery and throw it at one of the dummies Frisbee style."

We made our way to the shooting gallery and I did as instructed. My new fedora cleaved right through the neck of the dummy, hit the wall at the far end and bounced right back to my waiting hand.

"How did it do that?" I asked.

"It's a special metal. It's normally relatively flexible but becomes very hard when electricity is passed through it. The micro generator is hidden underneath the band and has different settings so that it's not lethal when you throw it."

"You're a genius," I commented with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

I left the gallery and headed straight to information storage where the entire police record archive was kept on a computer. There were also evidence lockers in the room and I was sure that the evidence collected from the Ramirez case would still be there. I was lucky that no one else was around when I got there. I approached a computer terminal and activated my computer interface jack which extended from the top of my hand. I interfaced with the computer and downloaded all the files relevant to the Ramirez case before getting the locker number for the evidence collecting that as well. I stuffed the evidence in my coat pockets and made my way back out. I went to the car lot and got back into Gadgetmobile.

"Take over Gadgetmobile," I said once we hit the road. "I've got to go over these files."

I interfaced with the computer and the case files scrolled down the screen at high speed. After completing the reading I turned my attention to the solid evidence. There wasn't much, just some scrap metal that must have come off one of the drones when it rammed through the wall and pictures of tread marks that the drones had left in the dust from when they smashed through the wall. The fact that it was ordinary reinforced sheet metal with nothing special about it suggested to me that the drone had been designed to be taken apart and disposed of quickly, neatly destroying anything that could connect the culprit to the murder.

I removed a piece of the scrap metal from the evidence bag and turned it in the light. It reflected off of something engraved on the metal that caught my eye. It was tiny but I zoomed in on it until I could read it. It looked like a manufacturer's logo that read '_IT.'_

"I-T," I muttered to myself as I pinched the bridge of my nose, thinking. "Gadgetmobile, pull up a list of businesses in Detroit that use the letters 'I' and 'T' in their logo."

The list scrolled across the monitor. Twenty-four thousand results.

"Just show the ones that specialize in electronics."

Twelve thousand results.

"What are you looking for inspector?" asked Gadgetmobile.

"I'm trying to find the company whose logo is on this piece of scrap metal," I answered. "Eliminate the stores and show the corporations."

Five hundred results.

"Display the corporations that manufacture and sell drone technology.

One result: Ion Technologies.

* * *

_A/N: The plot thickens. Gadget has a clue that's leading him to Ion Technologies. What will he find there? Will he be alright? And will Claw succeed in ruining his reputation as a crime fighter in Detroit with Robo-Gadget? If there's one thing I can promise you it's that the fight between Gadget and his evil robotic counterpart will be much more epic than the one in the movie. Review to find out what happens next._


	6. Shut Down

Ch. 6: Shut Down

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

"Take over Gadgetmobile," I said once we hit the road. "I've got to go over these files."

I interfaced with the computer and the case files scrolled down the screen at high speed. After completing the reading I turned my attention to the solid evidence. There wasn't much, just some scrap metal that must have come off one of the drones when it rammed through the wall and pictures of tread marks that the drones had left in the dust from when they smashed through the wall. The fact that it was ordinary reinforced sheet metal with nothing special about it suggested to me that the drone had been designed to be taken apart and disposed of quickly, neatly destroying anything that could connect the culprit to the murder.

I removed a piece of the scrap metal from the evidence bag and turned it in the light. It reflected off of something engraved on the metal that caught my eye. It was tiny but I zoomed in on it until I could read it. It looked like a manufacturer's logo that read '_IT.'_

"I-T," I muttered to myself as I pinched the bridge of my nose, thinking. "Gadgetmobile, pull up a list of businesses in Detroit that use the letters 'I' and 'T' in their logo."

The list scrolled across the monitor. Twenty-four thousand results.

"Just show the ones that specialize in electronics."

Twelve thousand results.

"What are you looking for inspector?" asked Gadgetmobile.

"I'm trying to find the company whose logo is on this piece of scrap metal," I answered. "Eliminate the stores and show the corporations."

Five hundred results.

"Display the corporations that manufacture and sell drone technology.

One result: Ion Technologies.

* * *

While I was busy playing detective Robo-Gadget had finally been unleashed on Detroit. He walked into a bank and approached a teller.

"Inspector Gadget," she greeted warmly. "Can I do something for you?"

"Yeah, there is," he answered and he pulled out his gun. "You can give me all the money in the bank."

* * *

I was en route to Ion Technologies when the vid-phone in Gadgetmobile went off. The caller ID said the caller was Shelby. I answered and a real-time picture of her showed up on the screen.

_"It's been almost a week and you haven't called me!"_ she exclaimed before I said anything.

"Yeah, I know. I've been really busy responding to calls this week. Crime is on the drop but even I can't be everywhere at once. I haven't had any off time except for rest cycles."

_"Do you have any off time coming soon?"_

"Shelby, as great as it is to be talking to you, this isn't the best time. I'm on a case and on my way to pick up a suspect."

_"Where are you going?"_

"Ion Technologies, I found evidence to link the CEO to the murder of John Ramirez."

_"What? Wait outside, I'm coming!"_

"NO!" I exclaimed. "You'll do no such thing! You are going to wait at home for me to call you. I don't know what kind of security the place has and it sold weapons to the military, especially drones! I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."

_"But-"_

"No buts Shelby! No arguments. You stay home and you stay safe! If you don't, then I'm not talking to you for a month!" I said and then disconnected the call before Shelby could argue further. Then I realized what I had told her and slapped my forehead. "Idiot! Why did I tell her where I was going? She won't listen! She's probably on her way to the tower right now!"

"You did lose your memory," Gadgetmobile reminded me. "In a way you're learning about Shelby all over again."

"Thanks, that helps a bit. Can you patch me through to Taylor's private line at Ion Technologies?"

"I'm on it."

* * *

Taylor was working in her private office at Ion Technologies when a newscast on the TV caught her attention.

_"We have breaking news here in downtown Detroit where Inspector Gadget has gone on a violent crime spree. We have eyewitness reports of him walking into a bank, pulling a gun on one of the tellers and demanding all the money in the bank. Other reports say that he has already damaged private property, set fire to a corner store, and attacked a group of teenagers. Stay tuned for more reports as they develop."_

"What's gone wrong?" Taylor asked herself.

After watching the news for a few more minutes the vid-phone on her desk rang with the words 'David Harder Calling…' flashing on the vid-screen. She answered immediately.

"David! What's going on? Are you alright? Why are you destroying the city? Have you lost your mind? Do you even know that there's a termination command in you that can be activated by the CEO of UniTech?"

Taylor said all that without taking a breath.

_"Whoa, slow down. What are you talking about?"_

"It's all over the news! They're saying that you're destroying Detroit. They even have live footage of you setting a building on fire."

I swore under my breath. _"It's not me destroying the city, Taylor, it must be Xavier."_

"Xavier? What's he got to do with all of this?"

_"I found evidence linking him to your brother's murder."_

"WHAT?"

_"Ouch, those are some strong lungs you have. Were you on a swim team when you were younger?"_

"Sorry, but why would Xavier kill my brother and steal our research?"

_"I don't know. He must have needed it for something he was working on. And the fact that there's an evil duplicate of me wreaking havoc on Detroit suggests that he's finished whatever he needed your research for. We have to move fast."_

"Is there anything I can do?"

_"Yes, go to Metro South, get Jay, and then get to UniTech to prevent the CEO from activating my termination command. I won't be much good to anyone if I'm dead. Now get out of there! I'm almost at the building, I'll leave Gadgetmobile outside and you can take him."_

"Thank you. And inspector?"

_"Yes doctor?"_

"Good luck."

_"Thanks. Now get out of there!"_

* * *

"Alright Gadgetmobile, you stay here and wait for Dr. Ramirez. Make sure she goes to Metro South and then UniTech."

" I've got it inspector, good luck."

"Thanks Gadgetmobile, see you in a few hours."

I made my way to the back side of the building being careful to not be seen as I heard a warrant for my arrest had been issued on the police radio before I had parked Gadgetmobile. I looked up at the sheer size of the IT building. Fifty floors straight up. I raised my arm and a grappling gun extended from my forearm. I fired and the grappler went all the up and hooked on the building. I was unprepared for the sudden tug however and accidently bashed myself against the side of the skyscraper a few times. I finally got it under control and reached the top of the building. There was an exit up there that would allow me to get inside. I tried the handle but it was locked. I lifted my arm and spoke into my wrist com.

"Gadgetmobile, are you still parked outside?"

_"Yes inspector, I'm still here."_

"Great, the exit door on the roof is locked and there's bound to be an alarm hooked up to it. Can you do something about that?"

_"I'm on it inspector,"_ Gadgetmobile assured me. _"The alarm has been disabled and Dr. Ramirez has just arrived."_

"Good job, now you know what to do."

_"Of course."_

"Good, Gadget out."

I entered the building and made my way down the stairs. I opened one of the doors that I heard machinery behind. The door opened onto a catwalk that overlooked a huge manufacturing area that was making battle droned equipped with Neural Wave Amplifiers. I was right. Xavier had killed John and stolen the plans. And that meant that he had attempted to take my life. I closed the door with a look of determination on my face and made my way further into the corporate building. I opened another that lead into a hallway that had one large door that was far away from all the others.

"That must be Xavier's private lab," I whispered to myself.

I made my way over and slowly opened the door. Thankfully, there were no alarms. The lab was dimly lit and had workbenches and computers scattered all over. I approached the main computer bank and interfaced with it. I was able to bypass the security password with a virus and started scrolling through the files. I found the stolen research and downloaded that into my CPU. I was about to log off the computer when another file caught my eye. It was the largest file on the computer and it was labeled 'Project 16.'

"What's Project 16?" I muttered to myself.

I opened it and set off an alarm.

_"Warning! Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Begin lock down of building."_

"Oops. Well, time to dash."

I turned and made a mad dash for the exit but the doors closed before I reached them. No problem. I just rammed right through them. I made a turn in the hall only to be faced with more of IT's drones. I pulled my CS-6 and fired a round at the closet one. It fell and then the others started firing. It didn't have time for this. I set my gun to automatic fire and mowed down the rest of the drones. I was about to make my get away when my systems were suddenly compromised.

WARNING!

SYSTEM ERROR!

ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT

WARNING!

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 60%

CORRECTION FAILED

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 38%

WARNING!

SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT!

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 20%

COMMENCING SYSTEM SHUTDOWN_

Shifting lines and static filled my vision as the warnings flashed on my HUD. My last view was of an immaculate leather shoe stepping next to me and the grinning face of Lloyd Xavier. Then my systems shut down plunging me into darkness.

* * *

Shelby was pulling up outside the IT building when she saw Taylor leave it and head towards Gadgetmobile. Her curiosity piqued, especially because Taylor seemed nervous, she got out of her Jeep and followed.

"Dr. Ramirez!"

Taylor spun around. "Who are you?"

"I'm Shelby, David's girlfriend. Why do you look like you're in such a hurry to leave IT?"

"I am in a hurry because David found evidence to connect Xavier, my boss, to my brother's murder. He told me to go to Metro South to get Jay and then head straight for UniTech because there's a termination sequence in him that can be activated by the CEO, Mr. King if he chooses to."

"What?"

"I know, that was his reaction. Now what are you doing here?"

"David told me he was coming here and I wanted in on the action."

"That's rather foolish, Xavier is a very smart man and if he was willing to kill my brother and almost kill David to cover his tracks then he'll have no qualms killing you to get to David. If you really want to help then you can come with me to Metro South and UniTech."

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Chief Steele was being run ragged because of Robo-Gadget. The force was stretched to the limit trying to respond to all the calls pouring in because of him.

"I want absolutely everybody out on the streets right now! Gadget has us short manned and I want him brought in no matter what! And don't bother filling out the paper work before you leave, there isn't enough time!"

"Sir, call for you on line one."

"I'll take it in my office."

A few minutes after the chief had left for his office there was a huge commotion outside the precinct and Robo-Gadget walked in a second later. Jay approached him and attempted to talk him down.

"David! What the hell are you thinking? The chief is going ballistic and a warrant has been issued for your arrest. Do you understand that? Your arrest! And he's authorized the use of lethal force if necessary! Now you need to— HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Robo-Gadget had picked Jay up by the lapels of his lab coat and was preparing to slide him on the floor into a door. He threw Jay onto the floor and he slid through the door and into a group of officers who were arming themselves before heading out to try and catch me.

The chief was finishing up with his call when Robo-Gadget smashed the glass on the door and walked in.

"Got a minute chief? I'd like to talk."

"Uh… sure. What do you want to talk about?"

Robo-Gadget activated a flamethrower and lit part of the desk on fire.

"Now, Gadget, I know you're upset about earlier. The truth is I want you on the Ramirez case. In fact, I want you to lead the case."

As he finished the sentence Robo-Gadget grabbed Chief Steele by the lapels of his uniform and made a move to harm him but was interrupted by a group of officers showing up in the door.

"Freeze Gadget! You're under arrest!"

He didn't waste any time. He swung around and fired his flamethrower again to throw off the cops.

"It's been fun boys, but I've got to take my leave, lots more to destroy!"

Robo-Gadget lunged out the window, breaking the glass, doing a complete somersault and landing on his feet on the concrete below. He walked away from the precinct firing a machine gun at the cop cars parked outside as he made his way back into town.

* * *

Gadgetmobile had gone full speed with sirens blaring all the way to Metro South. When he came to a halt outside the precinct he was immediately surrounded with armed cops.

"Get out of the car with your hands in the air Gadget!"

"Don't shoot!" exclaimed Taylor. "Don't shoot! It's me, Taylor Ramirez!"

"Dr. Ramirez," said Chief Steele. "What are you doing here? And who are you?"

"I'm Shelby Lutton."

"Chief Steele, we're here because we need Jay. Where is he?"

"He's inside. What do you need him for?"

"To help us prove to Mr. King that the Gadget destroying the city isn't the real Gadget!"

"What was that?"

But neither Taylor nor Shelby answered as they bounded into Metro South.

"Jay!"

"Taylor? What are you doing here?"

"We came to get you. The Gadget that's attacking Detroit isn't the real Gadget. We have reason to believe that he's a drone form Ion Technologies."

"Really? Well let me have a piece of that blasted CEO! I'll tear him to pieces! His creation tossed me on the floor and caused me to slide head first into a bunch of officers. It nearly broke my arm!"

"Well we've got more important matters to attend to right now," Shelby reminded.

"She's right, we have got to get to UniTech and keep Mr. King from activating Gadget's termination command."

"Damn, you're right. If we don't then the real Gadget will die. Come on! Let's get a move on!" exclaimed Jay as he bounded for Gadgetmobile.

* * *

SYSTEM REBOOT

POWER ON

SYSTEM INITIALIZING

CONFIGURE SYSTEMS

COMMAND SYSTEMS

SET PARAMETERS

MEMORY SET

BIO SUSPENSION ONLINE

SYSTEM BUFFERS ONLINE

SYSTEM REBOOTED_

POWER LEVEL

30%

"Greetings inspector, nice of you to drop in."

I was strapped to a table and had my coat, vest, tie, and shirt removed. The artificial skin panels had been removed from my chest, revealing the metal endoskeleton and cybernetics beneath.

"Normally I'd say you're under arrest but you clearly have the upper hand," I commented.

"Astute observation inspector. And don't bother trying to break the straps, your powers been drained to the point where you can't break them."

"Yeah, I noticed that. And another observation is the fact that I owe you one."

"Do you really?"

"When you blew me up you also blew up my Ford interceptor. Do you have any idea how good those cars are?"

"Well to me it doesn't matter because a car is a car, so get over it."

"So is this the part where you tell your plan, laugh in my face, and then tell me that the information isn't going to do me any good because I'm about to die? Because I rather like that part."

"Telling you my agenda was not in my game plan but the part about you dying was."

"If I may be permitted to ask a question, what was your motivation to steal the Ramirez's research and kill John in the process?"

"I see no reason not to tell you as you won't be around much longer.

"How generous of you."

"Because of UniTech Ion Technologies is going down the drain. We were the primary supplier for the military until UniTech came along and started stealing our contracts. IT needs something to put back on the top where it belongs but it's too late for that. This company is on the verge of bankruptcy. So I branched out and made business deals with… some who's use of my tech would have profound results on national security."

"Do you mean terrorists?"

"Terrorists are exactly what I mean. Thanks to the stolen Ramirez research the Ion Technologies Model 1-A Battle Drone is now a reality. We've even replaced you with one, take a look."

The table I was strapped to rotated me into a standing position so I could see a TV screen that was showing live images of the devastation Robo-Gadget was causing.

"I created him as part of my plan to bring down UniTech. You are a UniTech product and everyone knows it. Now that they think you've gone out of control UniTech stock will drop like a steel kite until it's worth less that paper towels. And it was all made possible with UniTech technology. Don't you just love the irony Gadget? The technology that made you, UniTech's greatest achievement to date, also led to UniTech's downfall. Comprende?"

"Si, yo comprendo," I spat.

"You got the verb right, good for you."

"I'm an American born citizen but I have a Hispanic heritage. I only got that right because I remembered what I learned in high school Spanish."

"You love to talk, don't you?"

"Kind of. I really only talk a lot when crazy guys have me strapped to a table and are threatening to kill me in a few seconds."

"Well there's one way to take care of that babbling of yours and that's to pull your Neural Wave Amplifier."

"Yeah, that would work. But you wouldn't really do that would you? Then you'd also be under arrest for the murder of a police officer."

"I killed John Ramirez and I nearly killed you. I have no problem with finishing the job."

At that point I'm sure that a hint of fear flashed in my eyes. Up to then the only thing I had felt was hatred for this particular individual.

"Sayonara, Inspector Gadget," Xavier stated as he pulled out my Neural Wave Amplifier with his mechanical hand.

WARNING!

CATASTROPHIC POWER LOSS

SYSTEM SHUT DOWN IN 5 SECONDS

4 SECONDS

3 SECONDS

2 SECONDS

1 SECOND

COMMENCING SYSTEM SHUT DOWN_

My head slumped to one side, my eyes went dim and the indicator lights in my body went out as my systems shut down for the last time.

"And thus ends the short career of Inspector Gadget. Good bye computer chip," Xavier said as he crushed my Neural Wave Amplifier before taking a cell phone out of his pocket. "Robo-Gadget, the inspector has been taken care of. Destroy the city."

_"You got it boss."_

"Hammer, take this out mode to the city dump where he belongs," he ordered indicating me. "We send the orders out tonight at midnight."

* * *

_A/N: Oops, looks like I killed Gadget. Will he somehow come back? What about Taylor, Shelby and Jay? Will they have to face Claw on their own or can they save Gadget? One thing's for sure though, I'm not Disney. R&R to find out what happens next._


	7. Resurrection

Ch. 7: Resurrection

_Previously on Inspector Gadget Reboot_

"Well there's one way to take of that babbling of yours and that's to pull your Neural Wave Amplifier."

"Yeah, that would work. But you wouldn't really do that would you? Then you'd also be under arrest for the murder of a police officer."

"I killed John Ramirez and I nearly killed you. I have no problem with finishing the job."

At that point I'm sure that a hint of fear flashed in my eyes. Up to then the only thing I had felt was hatred for this particular individual.

"Sayonara, Inspector Gadget," Xavier stated as he pulled out my Neural Wave Amplifier with his mechanical hand.

WARNING!

CATASTROPHIC POWER LOSS

SYSTEM SHUT DOWN IN 5 SECONDS

4 SECONDS

3 SECONDS

2 SECONDS

1 SECOND

COMMENCING SYSTEM SHUT DOWN_

My head slumped to one side, my eyes went dim and the indicator lights in my body went out as my systems shut down for the last time.

"And thus ends the short career of Inspector Gadget. Good bye computer chip," Xavier said as he crushed my Neural Wave Amplifier before taking a cell phone out of his pocket. "Robo-Gadget, the inspector has been taken care of. Destroy the city."

_"You got it boss."_

"Hammer, take this out mode to the city dump where he belongs," he ordered indicating me. "We send the orders out tomorrow night."

* * *

Things could not have been worse for UniTech CEO Calvin King. The company's most expensive, and successful, project had gone on a monumental crime spree. In the space of a few hours Inspector Gadget had gone from being Detroit's greatest crime fighter to being Detroit's most wanted criminal. It was a disaster. Their stock had been at an all time high and had suddenly dropped to an all time low. The inspector had to be terminated. It was going to sting as I had cost the company five hundred million dollars. But it had to be done. I was a menace now and there was still a chance for the stock to rise again if the company was seen doing the right thing. Mr. King activated the computer terminal built into his desk and activated the retina scan.

PREPARE FOR RETINA SCAN

3…

2…

1…

RETINA SCAN MATCHED TO UNITECH CEO

ACCESS GRANTED

Mr. King took out a micro disc and inserted it into a slot.

CYBORG FAILSAFE OPTIONS

DIRECT COMLINK

SYSTEMS ACCESS

WEAPONS ACCESS

ALTER PROGRAMMING

**TERMINATE**

YOU HAVE ENTERED THE TERMINATION COMMAND.

DO YOU WANT TO PROCEED?

** -YES** -NO

Mr. King's finger hovered over the enter key before punching down on the key.

UNABLE TO EXECUTE COMMAND

SAT-NET SIGNAL LOST

"What the…"

"Mr. King!" exclaimed Taylor as she, Jay, and Shelby burst into the office. "Whatever you do _don't_ activate Gadget's termination command!"

"Listen to her sir," added Jay. "We have reason to believe that the real Gadget has been replaced by a drone from Ion Technologies. If you activate that command then you're killing the only one who can save the city!"

"Well if you'd let me get a word in edge wise then I'd tell you that I can't activate the sequence because the sat-net signal has been lost."

"What?" both Taylor and Jay exclaimed at the same time.

"That's not possible," muttered Jay. "How's that possible?"

"What does that mean, the signal's been lost?" Shelby inquired.

"It means that we're too late," Jay answered. "Xavier's pulled out his Neural Wave Amplifier. He's dead and we have no way to track him now."

"Actually, we do," amended Taylor. "The active signal has been lost but there's still a passive signal emanating from him that we can use to pinpoint his location. It activates whenever there's a serious loss of power."

As she said this she had walked over to Mr. King's computer and had begun typing furiously.

Shelby perked up at this and the hope leaked into her voice. "You mean we might be able to save him?"

"Possibly, but don't get your hopes up," Taylor admonished.

"Why?"

"Jay, could you please explain?"

"Sure," Jay agreed with a heavy sigh. "You see Shelby, David lost his power source which means that he had a complete system shutdown. Now when we find him we might be able to restart the systems and they might return to normal but the man may have been erased."

"No, that can't happen! It can't! I just got him back and I will not lose him again!"

"I'm sorry Shelby, I really am. But there's nothing we can do. It's out of our control."

"I found his signal!" exclaimed Taylor suddenly. "But before we go off to find him we're going to need a few things. Mr. King, where's the prototype Wave Amplifier?"

"It was moved to the vault. Your old security passwords should still be valid. If you're right about all this then Xavier has a lot to answer for. Good luck."

"Thank you Mr. King. We're going to need it."

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," Shelby said.

The trio had been tracking my signal for the past thirty-five minutes and had just pulled up outside the junkyard on the city outskirts.

"Xavier had David brought here? Are you sure we have the right signal?"

"There is no error Ms. Lutton," Gadgetmobile answered. "The frequency is in my data banks."

"Well, forwards and onward," Jay said.

* * *

Back in downtown Detroit Robo-Gadget was till terrorizing the citizens who had fled onto the street. He had activated his extendo-legs and was stomping above the people and launching the occasional mini missile at the abandoned cars below. A black limo was parked nearby. The occupant watched as his creation wreaked havoc and destruction and smiled a sinister smile. No one could stop him. And those that tried would find out just how powerful his claw was.

_'This drone will make me a fortune,'_ Xavier thought. _'With these I could take over the world.' _

A nearby by car exploded in a big fireball and illuminated Xavier's smiling face like a horror monster's face in the moonlight. The effect made his grin all the more sinister.

* * *

"Aright," said Taylor as the trio got out of Gadgetmobile. "He should be somewhere within a few meters of here. Here are some trackers tuned to his signal. Spread out and start searching. Holler if you find him."

Shelby started climbing on top of the piles of refuse and waving her tracker around, hoping to find me soon. As she trudged through the junk the tracker started making louder beeping noises and she followed the signal until her weight on a slope caused a junk slide. Shelby was about to get back up when her hand brushed against something that felt like flesh. She froze and turned her head. She saw a human hand that was attached to a brown sleeve. She furiously started swiping the garbage away until she uncovered my face.

"I FOUND HIM!"

Shelby continued to dig me out of the trash and had me fully uncovered by the time Jay and Taylor got there.

"We were right," said Taylor as she kneeled down to examine my body. "The Neural Wave Amplifier is gone. Jay, get the prototype out and keep your fingers crossed. I have no idea if this will work."

Jay handed her the prototype Wave Amplifier and Taylor placed it in my chest cavity and rotated it until it clicked into place. Nothing happened.

"We're too late," Taylor breathed as she let out a sigh of defeat. "The prototype's not strong enough to revive him. We're going to have to take on Xavier on our own.

Shelby shed a tear as she looked at my body. She could see the extent to which my organic body parts had been replaced but she still felt a deep connection between us. She kneeled down next to me and planted a soft kiss on my strangely still warm lips.

"OK, I'm ready," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

START UP

POWER ON

SYSTEM INITIALIZING

CONFIGURE SYSTEMS

COMMAND SYSTEMS

SET PARAMETERS

MEMORY SET

BIO SUSPENSION ONLINE

SYSTEM BUFFERS ONLINE

PERFORMING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC...

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: 99%

SYSTEM ACTIVATED_

POWER LEVEL: 98%

There was a barely audible hum as my systems powered back on that Shelby heard. The few visible indicator lights on my body flickered back to life, though not as bright as before.

"Wait," Shelby said catching Jay and Taylor's attention.

"He's coming back, it works!" grinned Taylor.

My eyes finally opened and my vision swam into focus. The first thing I saw was Shelby's, Taylor's and Jay's smiling faces beaming down at me.

"Shelby? Jay? Taylor? W-where am I?"

"He hasn't lost his memory! He's still here!"

Shelby had a huge grin on her face and immediately embraced me in a hug that would have felt bone crushing to a normal human.

"I thought that I had lost you _again!_" she sobbed with relief. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"I probably won't be for long though," I said.

"What do you mean?" inquired Jay.

"Whatever you did to revive me, it works, but it's only a temporary fix. I'm at ninety-eight percent power and dropping."

"Then we don't have much time," Taylor realized. "We have to move _now_ if we're to have a hope of stopping Xavier in time."

"Agreed, let's move!" I exclaimed and bolted into a sitting position. "Do you happen to have a clean change of clothes for me?"

"There's a spare set of clothes for you in the trunk," answered Taylor.

"Thanks," I smiled as I got the clean clothes out.

A minute later I had changed into the clean clothes and felt ready to take on Robo-Gadget and Xavier. It was time to make them pay for their transgressions, and it was going to be painful.

"Alright Gadgetmobile, it's time to really show us what you can do because I'm feeling the need for speed," I said as I activated the chase mode.

"If it's speed you want then you've got the right car," assured Gadgetmobile.

"Umm, exactly how fast can this car go?" asked Shelby.

"Gadgetmobile has a top speed of three hundred and fifty miles per hour," Taylor answered.

" Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Right now we need 'extreme'," I reminded her. "Now let's punch it!"

I rammed the gas pedal home and we took off in pursuit of one CEO and fake inspector.

"Where's Xavier?" I asked less than a minute into our pursuit.

"He's in his limo traveling east," answered Gadgetmobile as he pinpointed Xavier's location on the digital display.

"Right, don't lose him."

"You needn't worry inspector, our estimated time to overtake is just under one minute and thirty seconds."

"Great."

"Do you have a plan?" Jay questioned.

"Sort of. Before I tripped that alarm at IT I downloaded some files from the mainframe. Thankfully Xavier didn't erase them and they're still in my memory banks. I have a detailed schematic of the Series 100 Model 1-A Battle Drone so I should have an advantage if I get in a fight with Robo-Gadget. He's also made contracts with terrorists to supply them with his drones. He plans to ship them out tonight at midnight so we have to hurry. I'll take care of Xavier and Robo-Gadget while the rest of you get to IT Tower and find a way to halt the transport of those drones."

"Why do you have to face the two of them alone?" Shelby asked, her tone and facial expression clearly displaying her dislike of the plan.

"Xavier tried to kill me and his attempt resulted in me becoming what I am now, a cyborg. And then Robo-Gadget discredited me in front of the entire city. It's personnel," I said with a hint of steel in my voice.

"Xavier's limo is on our twelve, we're closing in fast," informed Gadgetmobile.

"Take over Gadgetmobile, when I give the signal, slow down."

"What are you going to do?" asked Shelby.

"I'm gonna make an arrest."

I opened the door and started to make my way onto the top of Gadgetmobile when Taylor grabbed my arm.

"Are you crazy?"

"Can you think of a better way? Besides, if I fall I'll be able to get back in the game," I snapped and yanked my arm away.

I climbed out onto the hood and managed to keep my gaze forward despite the wind whipping into my eyes.

"Now!"

Gadgetmobile hit the brakes a bit too quickly and I nearly slid off but managed to regain my footing. Xavier's limo was within reach and I leapt for it. I landed on the roof and grinned. It was time for some payback.

* * *

Inside the limo Xavier and Robo-Gadget had absolutely no idea that they were about to be paid by a visit by someone they thought to be dead. They were suddenly alerted when they heard a thump on the roof of the limo.

"What's going on up there?" exclaimed Xavier.

A second later my fist speared right through the roof and cut a clean square right that I pulled back like a sardine lid.

"Surprise suckers! You're under arrest for the murder of John Ramirez and the attempted murder of a police officer, Xavier. And you," I said turning my gaze to Robo-Gadget, "you are under arrest for impersonating an officer of the law. It's payback time and I'm going to enjoy-"

My sentence was cut off by a sudden and unexpected punch from Xavier with his mechanical hand. I tumbled off the limo and only managed to save myself by grabbing onto the rear bumper.

"Hammer! Gadget is on the bumper, shake him off!"

The limo started swerving all over the road. If it kept up then innocent people would be hurt. I started to pull myself back up to put an end to the reckless driving.

"I don't think so, inspector," Xavier said and pushed a button on the dash marked 'bumper.'

I was about to get a grip on the trunk lid when the bumper suddenly detached from the limo and sent me flying backwards. Thankfully Gadgetmobile was able to swerve out of the way and continue the chase.

"Gadget is out of the picture for now Hammer, now lose that police car!"

I was down but I was by no means out. I had staggered into the path of an oncoming motorcycle and activated my extendo-legs to get out of the way in time. I looked and saw the retreating form of Xavier's limo being chased by Gadgetmobile. My eyes narrowed and I calculated the time it would take to overtake them using my legs.

CALCULATING TIME TO OVERTAKE…

ESTIMATED TIME TO OVERTAKE: 12 SECONDS

That did it. If Xavier wanted to fight dirty then I wasn't going to be Mr. Nice Guy anymore. Time to get rough. I took a step, a little unsure of myself with this gadget but growing in confidence with every step I took. Soon I was at an all out run and closing the gap between myself and the limo. I took a final step and landed right back on the roof of the limo.

"Ready for round two gentlemen?" I asked as I activated my forearm laser gun.

But before I could fire the limo swerved and hit Gadgetmobile. I knew that everyone inside would be alright thanks the Gadgetmobile's special diamond fused alloy shell. It was causing a problem me, however, as I couldn't keep steady enough to stun Xavier or my evil duplicate. I had to resort to using my magnetic fingertips to stay on top of the car.

"Stay in the car boss, I'll take care of the inspector once and for all," assured Robo-Gadget as he got out through the hole I had made in the roof.

As the hole was behind me I didn't see Robo-Gadget until he grabbed me by the shoulders and hauled me up.

"Say goodnight Gadget!" he said maliciously and took a swing that connected.

I went flying but managed to grab him by the ankle thanks to my extendo-arms and drag him off the limo with me.

* * *

"Hammer, lose that police car and get back to IT Tower right now! We have to beat Gadget's friends there because he'll have thought to wend them there to stop the shipments!"

Hammer took a hard right at the next intersection and Gadgetmobile couldn't turn in time.

"Damn, we lost them!" exclaimed Taylor. "Get a fix on their location right now!"

"Already on it doctor," Gadgetmobile answered.

"What about David?" Shelby asked.

"Don't worry about him," assured Jay. "He'll be able to hold his own against the IT drone. I hope."

* * *

Back at the bridge where we had fallen off the limo I was just getting back up when an iron hard fist connected with my head and put me back down again. I opened my eyes and saw Robo-Gadget standing over me with an evil grin.

"Why don't you just give up now inspector?" he mocked. "You can't beat me because I'm superior to you in very way."

"That remains to be seen, besides, I'm not dead yet."

"No but you soon will be. Prepare to die!"

With that Robo-Gadget lunged at me, prepared to fight to the death.

* * *

_A/N: Yes, it's another cliffhanger! Will Gadget survive his battle with Robo-Gadget? Will Taylor, Jay, and Shelby be able to stop the delivery of the 1-A Battle Drones? To find out the answers keep those reviews rolling in. I can also guarantee that the fight between Gadget and Robo-Gadget will be much more epic than it was in the movie. R&R for the next exciting installment of Inspector Gadget: Reboot!_


	8. Show Down

_Ch. 8: Show Down_

_Previously on Inspector Gadget: Reboot_

Back at the bridge where we had fallen off the limo I was just getting back up when an iron hard fist connected with my head and put me back down again. I opened my eyes and saw Robo-Gadget standing over me with an evil grin.

"Why don't you just give up now inspector?" he mocked. "You can't beat me because I'm superior to you in very way."

"That remains to be seen. Besides, I'm not dead yet."

"No but you soon will be. Prepare to die!"

With that Robo-Gadget lunged at me prepared to fight to the death.

* * *

"Where's Xavier?" asked Taylor.

"If he continues on his current course then I predict that he is headed back for Ion Technologies."

"Why's he going back there?" questioned Shelby.

Jay formulated an answer. "He must be headed back there to destroy any evidence can incriminate him. Can we go any faster?"

"Activate the nitrous, Gadgetmobile."

"Nitrous activated Dr. Ramirez."

If it was possible Gadgetmobile went even faster.

"ETA: one minute and forty-five seconds."

* * *

Robo-Gadget swung his fist at me and I managed to roll out of the way in time. I got back on my feet and delivered a blow Robo's back before he turned around. Now was when I was glad I had all those moves from the boxing league in my data-banks. I rushed Robo-Gadget but he used his own extendo-legs and hit me in the back as I ran under. There was no doubt in my mind that he was programmed to fight dirty. Before I could bet back up Robo-Gadget was on me again and delivered a kick to my gut that sent me right into the guardrail of the bridge. He shot a taser at me but I grabbed the lines and used them to swing him into the asphalt and a nearby abandoned car. He still managed to shock me but I absorbed the energy and caused a feedback that sent my evil twin flying into one of the bridge suspension cables.

By this point quite a crowd had gathered to witness the battle and I was worried. If things started going south for him then Robo-Gadget would most likely take one of the people hostage. Thank goodness some cops had shown up and were holding the crowd back. When they got there they were surprised and confused to see two Inspector Gadgets' fighting. Not knowing which one to open fire on, they had settled for keeping the crowd a safe distance back.

Robo-Gadget got back up and faced me with a machine gun. My special coat and vest deflected most of the bullets but I was mindful that there were innocent people watching the fight and managed to make it to the side of the bridge where civilians had not gathered. As soon as my opponent stopped firing I drew my CS-6 and targeted the knees. I was rewarded by Robo-Gadget slumping slightly.

By this point in the fight I looked like the Terminator in T2 after he had been beaten up by the T-1000. The skin on my face had been torn away revealing the gleaming titanium skull underneath. My artificial left eye had been smashed and the glowing blue optical implant was plainly visible. My clothes were starting to look worn and the left knee in my pants had torn as had the skin in that area. Robo-Gadget was in a similar condition but I had a limited power supply. It was time to end this fight. I rushed him again and threw a punch that connected with his chest. I tackled him to the ground and kept up a barrage of punches, not wanting to give him the upper hand. Finally I had torn away enough of the chest covering to see the NWA. Robo looked like he was having a few overloads and took advantage of that.

"Say good night," I growled and made a move for the Neural Wave Amplifier only to have my action interrupted by a warning on my HUD.

WARNING!

MAIN CIRCUIT PATHWAY COMPROMISED

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 76%

POWER: 47%

Robo-Gadget had been playing possum. While I was preoccupied he had extended some spikes from his knuckles and took advantage of the face that my coat was not buttoned up. He had stabbed me and caused some significant damage. I staggered back and Robo activated a shoulder laser spammer. I just managed to throw up a half shield in time but it was draining more power. That's when my doppelganger started firing at the asphalt beneath my feet and created a hole in the ground where I had been standing. I managed to grab onto the edge of the hole and was about to haul myself back up when Robo-Gadget appeared over me.

"You're hanging by a thread, Gadget. Why don't you surrender?"

"Because I'm not dead yet," I said and channeled more power to my arm servos and launched myself right over his head.

I landed behind Robo-Gadget who turned, surprised, and I ripped his NWA right out of its socket. Thank you Obi-Wan Kenobi. Robo-Gadget went rigid and I gave him a little push that sent him tumbling through the hole he had created into the water below.

"Hasta la vista."

The crowd of people cheered but I couldn't hang up my gun belt and go home because my job wasn't over yet. I still had to take care of Xavier. There was just one problem. My fight with Robo-Gadget had significantly lowered my power level and I didn't have enough power to use most of the gadgets that would get to IT Tower in an amount of time I found acceptable.

GADGETMOBILE - UNAVAILABLE

EXTENSION LEGS – ETA: 6 min 48 sec

FLIGHT BOOSTERS – INSUFFICIENT POWER

ROLLER BLADES - ETA: 7 min 27 sec

GRAPPLING CABLES – ETA: 6 min 29 sec

HELICOPTER – ETA: 2 min 38 sec

The helicopter was the only viable solution to get me to Ion Technologies in a short amount of time and leave me with enough power to hopefully take care of Xavier. I thought about it and the helicopter popped out of the top of my hat and started assembling itself. In just six seconds the copter was ready to go. I hit the ignition button and the blades started spinning faster and faster as I opened the throttle all the way. I lifted off with the assembled civilians still applauding and turned in the direction of Ion Technologies.

* * *

Gadgetmobile pulled up to a screeching halt in front of IT Tower and Taylor opened the door before he had come to a complete stop.

"We have to get to the manufacturing floor and shut down the assembly lines," Taylor stated as she marched across the ground to the main doors. "Damn! They're locked!"

"Stand aside," said Jay as he approached and produced what looked like a miniature version of a Dust Buster.

"What's that?" asked Shelby.

"It's a sonic lock pick. It uses focused sound waves to vibrate the tumblers into place," he explained as applied it to the lock.

The trio walked in quietly and looked around the darkened lobby. Taylor looked around before choosing the corridor that went to the left.

"The manufacturing area is this way," she said.

They bolted down the corridor and opened the second door on the left, ran further into the building and opened the first door on the right. It opened into a manufacturing area that was disused. The assembly line was inert and there wasn't a 1-A Battle Drone to be seen.

"I-I don't understand!" exclaimed Taylor. "This is the main manufacturing area, he should have used this one!"

"Could he have used another assembly line?" asked Jay.

"It's possible," she admitted. "But this place is huge! All the assembly lines are on the first six floors and I don't think it would be a good idea to split up."

While Taylor and Jay were talking Shelby had noticed something on a floor by floor map on the wall outside the manufacturing room. For the top floor, a large chunk of it was not labeled on the directory.

"Guys," she called, "take a look at this. There's a whole room on the top floor that isn't in the directory."

"Are you saying that this company has a secret room?" questioned Jay.

"No, I'm saying that there's a sizeable room on the top floor that isn't labeled. It looks like it could be a private assembly line."

"I think it is," Taylor agreed. "That must be where the drones are being assembled."

The three of them ran from the unused assembly line and took the elevator to the top floor. They crept out when they reached floor fifty and sneaked to the door that hid the assembly line. Jay pressed his ear to the door and listened.

"This has to be it," he confirmed. "I can hear machines on the other side."

Jay used the sonic lock pick to gain them entry once again and they stepped into the busily clanging assembly room which was still churning out battle drones at an impressive rate.

"Look for an access panel, something that we can use to shut down the assembly line or power to this room," Taylor ordered.

The trio spread out and began searching. Jay was sneaking down a catwalk when he heard what sounded like a shoe scrapping the ground behind him. He turned but didn't see anyone.

"Who's there? Taylor? Shelby?"

He dropped into a defensive stance and inched his towards where the noise had come from. He looked into the shadows but still didn't see anything. He was about to attribute it to the pipes or something when he heard the unmistakable whir of servos right behind him. Jay ducked just as a metal hand passed through the air where his head had been mere seconds ago. Xavier emerged from the shadows looking furious with madness shining in his eyes. Jay tried to catch Xavier off guard with a karate kick to the face but his foot was intercepted and he was spun onto his back.

"You are very foolish to come here. You will surely die!"

"Maybe I won't die. It's anybody's guess."

"You will, soon enough. Now where are your friends?"

"Why should I tell you? As soon as you get that information out of me you'll just kill me because I've outlived my usefulness."

"You're a smart one, I'll give you that. But even if I don't kill you after telling you, I will kill you trying to get it out of you."

Jay got up slowly and, keeping his hands in plain view, paced back and forth a bit, looking like he was weighing his options. Finally he came to a conclusion.

"Oh what the hell? You only live once," he said and ran right at Xavier, knocking him into the railing.

Xavier thumped Jay on the back hard and rammed his forehead into his knee before Jay dropped down and knocked Xavier's legs out from under him with a sweep of his legs. Xavier got back up and was about to punch Jay when Jay said something rather random.

"Look," he shouted, pointing to something to the side, "a distraction!"

Xavier actually looked and Jay pressed the advantage, hitting his opponent with everything he had until Xavier ducked, throwing off his move. Xavier got the upper hand and rammed Jay against the wall. Wicked looking claws extended from Xavier mechanical hand and he was preparing to deal the deathblow when a warning was heard over the PA system.

_"Warning! Neural Wave Amplifier overload sequence initiated."_

"RAMIREZ!" yelled Xavier as he cast his crazed gaze in the direction of the master control console. He forgot about Jay and ran towards the console.

* * *

"That did the trick," Taylor said as she finished typing in the overload command. "That will ensure that Xavier's androids are taken offline for good."

"That's great, I'm calling the police," Shelby grinned and got her cell phone out of her pocket. She had dialed and was just talking to the operator when Xavier burst down from the catwalk above them. "We're at Ion Technologies!" she yelled into the phone as Xavier swat it out of her hand.

"I'm sorry," he growled. "Your call has been disconnected. Permanently."

Xavier crushed the phone in his hand and looked like he was about to attack Shelby when Taylor hit him on the back of the head as hard as she could. He stumbled slightly and turned to face his attacker. In one swift move he had grabbed Taylor by the throat and had lifted her up off her feet and was staring her right in the face

"Your services are no longer required."

He threw her against a wall and she fell to the floor where she remained motionless. He then returned his attention to Shelby who was trying to sneak her way to a door.

"I don't think so," he said as he shot a bolt of electric energy from his pointer finger that hit right next to Shelby's head. "You're coming with me!" he declared and grabbed Shelby by the wrist and dragged her towards the roof.

On the roof a helicopter sat waiting and he made his way towards it despite Shelby's frenzied attempts to break free. He somehow managed to get her in the passenger seat and handcuff her to the control yoke but not before Shelby got a few good tugs on his hair in.

"Look at it this way," he said as he smoother his hair back out. "Most people pay an arm and a leg to go where I'm taking you."

He strode around to the other side of the helicopter and warmed up the motor.

* * *

I was travelling as fast as I could by my copter when I saw Xavier force Shelby into the helicopter on top of the building with my enhanced vision.

"That does it Xavier! No second chances."

I gunned the throttle and coaxed as much speed out of the copter as I could.

Xavier had gotten the helicopter fully warmed up and was just beginning to lift off when I appeared flying over the edge of the building. Shelby smiled but my surprise appearance only incensed Xavier further.

"Damn! That cyborg will not give me a break!" Xavier exclaimed in an enraged outburst as I landed and my copter collapsed back into my hat.

"Lloyd Xavier," I announced in an amplified voice. "You are under arrest. Surrender or face the consequences!"

"In your dreams, mish mash!" Xavier yelled over the speaker system in the helicopter and fired a missile.

I dived out of the way but still caught part of the blast. I had already taken a beating from Robo-Gadget and couldn't afford to take much more punishment.

Xavier had decided to try and make a getaway instead of staying and playing 'blow the cyber cop to pieces' which suited me just fine. But I didn't have enough power left to fly after him. I had to stop him but how? My targeting system needed to be recalibrated and I didn't have the energy for any gadgets that might knock the helicopter out of the sky. He was still rising and if something wasn't done soon then he would be gone. My fedora had been blown off and when I saw it I remembered what Jay had done to it. That was how I was going to stop Xavier.

I hurriedly picked it up off the ground and, thankful that my throw was not dependent on my targeting system, gave it my best throw. My hat flew straight and true and flew straight into the base of the propeller. Sparks flew and the power to the prop suddenly faltered and the helicopter began returning to the landing platform. But my hit had thrown the helicopter out of control and it began spinning and had to take cover behind a ventilation intake as it crashed. As the dust settled I dared to take a look and made my way cautiously over.

"Shelby? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit shaken up is all."

"Xavier?"

"I think he's unconscious," she answered as I hoisted myself up 0n the side turned belly of the helicopter to help her out. "Wow, you're a sight," she commented when she saw my face.

"I know, and I don't have an awful lot of power left. I need a new NWA soon," I said as I helped her down.

"What about Xavier?"

"That was quite a crash. I imagine that he'll be out for a while yet to come. At least long enough for the police to get here and take him away. Right now I want to make sure that Jay and Taylor are alright."

We were walking away from the crashed helicopter when a mechanical hand suddenly speared through the metal underside. The metal plating was torn away and Xavier emerged, his eye burning with madness.

"I have had ENOUGH!" he roared and launched a concentrated burst of electricity at me before I could respond.

Xavier ran forward and struck Shelby, throwing her to the side and rendering her unconscious. That really did it. My systems were still recovering but I managed to, somewhat unsteadily, get to my feet.

"Not this time Gadget! You may have halted destroyed all my drones but you will not leave this building alive!"

I drew my CS-6 from its holster and fired a bullet right into Xavier's shoulder. Instead of the pained yowl I was expecting, there was a sudden flash of spark and what looked like an oil stain started appearing.

"You're arm, it's…"

"Entirely mechanical," finished Xavier and gave me an uppercut that landed me on my back before darting back into the building.

I staggered back up and went to check on Shelby.

SYSTEM MALFUNCTION

TOUCH SENSORY INPUT SYSTEM FAULTY

"She's dead, or dying. I can't tell," I muttered.

A ragging anger flooded through me and I stood, a glint of steely determination in my eye. Xavier had harmed one of my friends for the last time. Now it was personal. I turned and stalked into the company. On the manufacturing floor I found Jay helping Taylor up.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked.

"David! Thank goodness you're alright!" exclaimed Taylor.

"Xavier came back in here. Have you seen him?"

"No," Taylor answered. "He knocked me out earlier and I just came around."

"Xavier kind of put me out of it earlier and I just got here," Jay replied.

I slumped slightly and had to use a nearby rail for support.

"What's wrong?" asked Taylor.

"My power is low and so is my system efficiency. The touch sensory input system is also malfunctioning."

"Let's take a quick look then," Jay advised. "You're gonna need all the help you can get to take on Xavier."

"No arguments here," I agreed. "His hand packs one heck of a punch."

"I know," said Jay.

Taylor got a hand-held computer out of her lab coat and used a cable to hook it up to the computer interface jack that was hidden beneath a flap of skin on the back of my neck. A few taps of the touch screen later and my system efficiency was up twelve percent and the sensory malfunction was repaired.

"That's the best we can do for now," she said as she put away the computer. "Any further repairs will have to be in a controlled environment."

"Quiet!" I whispered suddenly. "I think I heard something."

I strained my audio pickup feeds to the max and then heard something again. It sounded big and it was heading in our direction.

"Everybody outside now!"

Whatever was coming after us heard my warning and started running. It made a considerable noise and was clearly overturning computer equipment and tearing through whatever else was in the way to get to us. We finally made it outside and not a moment too soon as a large hand came through the doorway after us and made a few attempts to get one of us. It disappeared when it became apparent that it wasn't catching anything that way. A second later the entire door and part of the wall became demolished as a large metal object crashed through.

"What the hell is that?" asked Jay as he got up from where he had been tossed.

"Let's finish this once and for all Gadget!" the metal monster said as it landed.

"Great, now we really know he's gone insane. It's Xavier! In a power suit. Everybody get back and at the first opportunity, run for the door and get out of here," I ordered before turning my attention to the now iron clad Xavier. "I don't suppose you'd want to meet back here after I've had a chance to get some repairs done?"

"SHUT UP!" Xavier yelled and threw a mighty right hook that sent me flying to the edge of the skyscraper.

He activated a jet pack and flew into the sky a few feet before coming back down with his fist ready to strike. I rolled out of the way and gave him my most powerful uppercut. It barely moved him.

"Is that the best you've got?"

"No, that was just an opener," I said and drew my CS-6 again.

But before I could pull the trigger Xavier's hand lashed out and snatched the firearm away and crushed it into a shapeless pulp.

"That little popgun wouldn't have harmed me," he stated.

"Oh well," I conceded. "It was worth a shot."

I quickly activated a flare and launched it right into the eyes of the beast. Xavier staggered back, blinded by the bright light in his HUD and I darted behind him. I quickly found a weak spot in the back of the armor and exploited it. I jumped on his back and plunged my hand right into an unprotected spot on the back.

"This looks like it might be important," I said as I ripped out the wires.

The eyes of the suit went dead and Xavier started thrashing around, trying to shake me off. He finally managed to grab a hold of my head and throw me over the edge of the building. If it hadn't been for my extendo-arms I would have fallen fifty stories. In my condition I was unsure if I could survive that. I only had twenty-five minutes of power left at the most. Xavier opened the helmet of the suit and picked me up from the edge.

"Smart, Gadget. You disabled my HUD system. But I don't need it to take care of you. Kiss your existence goodbye!" he growled and smashed me into the cement of the roof. Before I could even twitch a servo he picked me up again and threw across the roof.

WARNING!

SYSTEM CONDITION CRITICAL

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 31%

POWER: 28%

I pushed myself back up on my elbows and looked in the direction of where Taylor and Jay were last. They were still there but Shelby was there with them. She was alright! Granted she had a trickle of blood down the side of her face but she was alive! The three of them were doing something with the electrical system of the building and I couldn't tell what it was. But I knew I had to give the time that they needed to prepare the surprise. I had to fight Xavier to my last breath if that was what it took to stop him. He was running right for me and I channeled as much power to my right arm as I could and turned to punch Xavier in one swift move that actually sent him flying with a dent in the armor.

Xavier was stunned. "Y-you actually dented my armor! That's supposed to be impossible! How did you do that?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. And now you're going to get what's coming to you."

For the first time, fear replaced madness in those dark eyes.

I threw another punch and another. Xavier activated a mini rocket launcher but I jumped up and ripped it off the suit before he could fire one. I kept hammering away, the suit getting more and more battle damaged with each blow it sustained.

"This is impossible! How are you doing this?"

"You'd be surprised what anger can do to a man, anger that you created. You tried to kill me but you failed. You threaten my friends, you nearly destroy the city, you tarnished my reputation with your abomination, and you nearly killed my girlfriend."

The malice in my voice was unmistakable as I continued to hammer away. I threw Xavier across the roof and as he got back on his feet I got in another uppercut that floored him. By this point the suit was starting to fall apart at the seams. I got around to his back and smashed his jetpack lest he try to escape using it. I wasn't letting him go anywhere. I was about to beat Xavier up some more when I saw Taylor sneaking up behind him. The electric cable she was carrying combined with the exposed power jack on the back of the suit made it obvious what she was attempting to do.

"You know Xavier, it would be so easy to kill right now. So easy with your head no longer protected by that helmet of yours. But lucky for you I'm not that kind of person. I won't kill you."

"You won't?"

"No. Instead I'm just going to let Taylor overload your overgrown walking trashcan's circuits. NOW TAYLOR!" I yelled as I let go of the suit and dodged away as she jammed the cable into the socket.

The damaged circuits couldn't take the strain. Electricity arced across the surface of the armor and Xavier finally dropped to the ground, completely spent. When that happened every light in the IT building went out.

"What happened?" asked Shelby.

"In order to overload the suit's circuits we had to channel as much of the building's power as we could into the cable," replied Jay.

"But in the process we blew every fuse in Ion Technologies."

"Well at least it worked," I said and took a deep breath.

"David! Are you alright?" Shelby asked as she suddenly grasped me in a hug.

"I'm fine, but I've definitely been better."

"You definitely look like the Terminator before he was lowered into that vat of molten metal in the second movie," Jay commented.

"That's what I was afraid of."

"As long as you're alright, I'm happy," she said and stood on her toes for a kiss.

WARNING!

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AT 19%

POWER: 0%

EMERGENCY POWER ACTIVATED

ENTERING SUSPENDED ANIMATION

Before I could kiss Shelby the glow in my visible optical receiver went out and I collapsed.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, Shelby," Taylor assured as she checked me. "He's operating on emergency power so he entered suspended animation. As long as we get him to a lab and replace the NWA within the next two hours he'll be fine."

Just as Taylor finished her sentence the cops came through the destroyed door lead by Chief Steele.

"What in blazes happened up here?" he exclaimed as he looked at the carnage.

"Impeccable timing chief," Jay said before explaining. "Xavier was trying to get away and would have if it weren't for the heroic actions of our friend here, Inspector Gadget."

"Is he OK?"

"He's fine, he's in suspended animation. But we need to get him to a controlled environment to effect repairs and replace the Neural Wave Amplifier."

"You can have a police escort all the way to UniTech Tower," the chief assured.

"Thanks chief, time really counts here."

"You're welcome. Now how do we get Xavier out of that suit?"

* * *

**Two days later…**

"… and that does it. You are officially ready for duty again Inspector Gadget," Taylor pronounced.

"And not a day too soon. If I had to stay in this clinical environment much longer I would have gone nuts."

"You've been cleared but try to take it easy for the next day."

"I'll do my best," I promised. "By the way, could you explain the thing with the Neural Wave Amplifier to me one more time? I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around it.

"Sure," Taylor smiled. "An unforeseen effect of the way your neural interface was set up was that it not only sent signals from the NWA to the CPU but it also sent signals back to your brain which altered itself to accept those impulses. The net result is that you no longer require the NWA to function. Your mind now does the job the NWA previously did."

I smiled, said my thanks, and left UniTech for Metro South.

I got plenty of applause and many welcome back's from me colleagues when I walked in. The chief even walked up and congratulated me on a job well done. I was going through some case files in my maintenance area when Shelby walked in.

"Well, well, look who's back," she purred.

"Hello Shelby, you feeling good?"

"I'm feeling great! Especially since I got out of the hospital."

"I felt the same way. By the way, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Well… it has to do with… us. And out relationship.

"What about it?"

"You see… I'm not sure if it's a good idea for… us… to be seeing each other anymore."

"Why?"

"Shelby, you're a wonderful woman and the man who eventually snags you should consider himself lucky. But after what's happened to me, I think we should stop dating. Xavier's been sent away but who's to say he won't somehow break out and come after me again? The easiest way for him to do that is to target you and he will kill you to get to me. I can't let something like that happen to you. I won't."

"David, just because we stop seeing each other doesn't mean our feelings for each other will go away. They'll still be there and I'd still be a target for him anyway. And I don't care that you're part machine now. You're still you underneath all the metal. You're still the same man I fell in love with. And you are the one who's snagged me."

"I know you want us to stay together and so do I but…"

"But what?"

"Shelby, I lost a lot of my body in the explosion. One of those things was the ability to have children."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"How could you have known? I love you and I want you to be happy. You've expressed a desire to have children and I won't stand in the way of that. Shelby, find someone else, someone who makes you laugh and smile and you can have children with. That's one of joys of life, is finding out that you're going to be a parent."

"I know that you're trying to do what sounds right for both of us but you listen to me, David Sigala Harder. I don't care that you can't have children or that you're more machine than man. I love you because you're you. You're funny, you're brave, you're thoughtful, and if you think I'm leaving you just because you're a cyborg, you've got another thing coming. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not. Besides, we can always adopt."

"I…"

"No, not another word. I'm staying with you, for better or for worse."

I knew better than to try and argue with her so I simply smiled and leaned down to kiss her. It was short only because we were interrupted by the chief buzzing me over the intercom.

_"Gadget! There's a break in at a UniTech storage facility on 9__th__ Street! I want you down there now!"_

"For better or for worse huh?" I smirked.

"You can bet on it. Now go on and do your job."

"Thanks for everything, I'll see you tonight."

I ran for Gadgetmobile and got inside.

"Greetings inspector. It's good to see you back on your own two feet."

"It's great to be back, Gadgetmobile. Now we've got to stop the robbery of a storage facility. Pedal to the metal."

As we swung out into traffic I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Shelby getting into her Jeep and smiled. I pressed the 'pursuit mode' button and gunned the engine, thinking that my future was looking a lot brighter than it had five minutes ago.

* * *

_A/N: Yes! I finally finished and this is the longest chapter in the story! Special thanks to Lt. Gungirl for the helpful reviews. Hope you all enjoyed this fanfic as much as I did writing it. But there's more to come! Be on the look out for IGR: 2, the next installment in my Inspector Gadget: Reboot trilogy._

_Knight Writer 95 out_


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